


Harry Potter and the Soul Crystal

by Wendy Winchester (Songbrd21)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-05 15:46:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 28,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17921738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Songbrd21/pseuds/Wendy%20Winchester
Summary: Ever since Harry began dreaming about the Soul Crystal he's become obsessed with it. He's also trying to deal with new feelings for Hermione, an unexpected reunion, Voldemort's deepest secret and the reason why is Harry so powerful.....





	1. The Second Emerald

**Author's Note:**

> Rating is for violence, some swearing and a brief moment of minor lime.
> 
> This fic doesn't acknowledge OoTP. Also please note that the Twins have been held back a year & that's why they're still at Hogwarts.
> 
> The only characters/things I own are the bubble sprites, Soul Crystal, flamingo seeds, razorum spell, twindoma spell, Magical Artifacts Throughout History book, Soul Beast, argots, bright spots, Wendy Byrum, Ardian and Rachel Tigerlilly. Please don't use them in a story w/out asking me first.
> 
> Yes, there's an original character in this. But trust me; she's not a Mary Sue. I made this character up because Harry needed to have at least one living relative that wasn't repulsive. She's pretty but she's not drop dead gorgeous & the Hogwarts boys don't go nuts over her. She's good at magic, but she's not perfect. In fact, she puts her foot in her mouth a lot. She's American only because I wanted someone to write where I didn't have to worry about proper British speech. Even if you're not a fan of original characters please finish reading the story. I I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. (She has my name but she's not a self-insert. I just like my name and it fits since it originated in Britain.) :)

AMERICA

Professor McGonagall sat down on the rock in front of her. Her cat eyes darted all around the swamp, but the fire salamander she needed for her potion was nowhere to be seen.  _"I will never understand why fire salamanders live in places where there is so much water."_  She mentally sighed.  _"Perhaps I should consult Hagrid. He may have an idea where..."_  Her thoughts were cut off abruptly as a rotten branch from the tree above came crashing down on her head and front legs.

* * *

BRITIAN

As the Hogwarts Express wound through the lush, green hills of the British countryside Harry felt someone poking him in the side of the ribs and woke up abruptly. Hermione was looking at him with disbelief on her face. "I can't believe you, of all people, would nod off on the way to Hogwarts."

Harry took a deep breath and shook his head slightly to rid himself of the last traces of sleep. "Sorry, Hermione," he yawned. "I just finished moving my stuff over to Sirius's last night. I'm exhausted," he said as he rubbed his eyes.

Hermione nodded to her left. "Well, I woke you up to tell you the food trolley's here."

Harry ordered one of everything. Hermione and Ron looked at him with surprise because he hadn't ordered that much food since their first year. He caught their stare and shrugged. "I'm free from the Dursleys. I feel like celebrating." He smiled again at the memory of being told how the Ministry found Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew confessed to being the real traitor, so Sirius had been exonerated. It wasn't until two months later that the transfer of guardianship to Sirius from the Dursleys was finalized. He had cried tears of joy as Sirius drove him away from Privet Drive—away from his laughable excuse for a family.

Hermione and Ron grinned. After the trio had stuffed themselves, they talked excitedly about the dance that Hogwarts was holding for the sixth years. As they spoke Harry suddenly noticed he was staring at Hermione a bit too much. This wasn't the first time either. He'd started to notice her as a woman near the middle of their fifth year.  _"Stop that!"_  he scolded himself,  _"She's one of your best friends!"_  He kept trying to focus on the conversation but it just wasn't any use. He knew he had feelings for her. Now he just had to figure out what he was going to do about it.

 

* * *

 

The Hogwarts express came to a halt and everybody piled out. Suddenly, all chatter on the platform ceased and the trio stood on their tiptoes to see what everyone was staring at. To their shock, Albus Dumbledore was standing in front of the crowd with a grave look on his face. He spoke in a way that made his voice sound very strange. Something was wrong. "I have very troubling news for all of you. I regret I must deprive the first years of their trip across the lake. Everyone will join me in the great hall immediately." He and Hagrid got everyone into the carriages.

"Everybody 'old on," said Hagrid as the carriages moved much faster than any of the students thought possible.

 

* * *

 

Once at the castle, everyone was hurried into the great hall and the first years were told to take whatever seats were available. Dumbledore and the rest of the staff were sitting at the main table. Harry noticed that one of the seats was empty and got an awful feeling of dread.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Just this morning we received word that Professor McGonagall...has been missing for two weeks." A torrent of whispers broke out among the students and Hermione looked to be on the verge of panic. "Until she is found, Sirius Black has kindly offered to teach her classes. Please be assured we are doing everything we can to find her. The sorting ceremony will now commence. Sirius, if you please," said Dumbledore as he surprised the students again by standing up and walking out into the hall. Hagrid followed him and put a gigantic arm around his shoulders.

The sorting ceremony went on in a strangled silence. Afterward, everyone trudged up to their dorms. Harry mumbled the word 'mermaid' to the fat lady and stepped on through to the Gryffindor common room. Hermione immediately fell into one of the armchairs and began to cry.

 

* * *

AMERICA

Professor Minerva McGonagall woke to find herself lying on a cat bed in a small bedroom. It was pretty unimpressive. A bed was off to one side, a dresser was to the right of it, and a small stack of very worn looking stuffed animals sat at the foot. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye. A girl of about Harry's age had come into the room. She was roughly five feet three inches. She had dark brown hair that went down past her shoulders, deep green eyes, and a light tan complexion. McGonagall cursed mentally. A muggle had found her knocked out and now thought she was a normal cat.

The girl smiled wide when she saw her patient was awake. "Oh!" she exclaimed smiling, "I'm so glad you're okay. I was starting to worry." She knelt down and began to stroke McGonagall's fur. "My name's Wendy. I wonder what your name is," she said as the cat cocked its head to one side. "I'll just call you Tabby for now."

McGonagall wasn't listening. She was staring at the oddly shaped birthmark that was half visible under the t-shirt sleeve on Wendy's arm.  _"Is it possible?"_  she thought.

"WENDY!" came a voice bellowing up the stairs. Footsteps followed the voice and soon a large woman with frizzy black hair entered the room. "Everyone else is at the table. I refuse to have my children wait on dinner because my baby sister is too involved in playing with some mangy cat!" she said as she grabbed the girl by the ear, who let out a screech of protest. McGonagall was about to follow, but as she tried to get up a sharp pain shot upwards through her right front leg. She sighed. The leg was either broken or severely sprained, so she decided to just stay where she was for now. Besides, she was very interested in that birthmark.

Wendy came back into the room a half hour later, looking dejected. She went over to McGonagall and began to pet her. "From parents who don't care much about me to an older sister who hates my guts. What a life, huh, Tabby?" She flopped backward onto her bed and sighed.

 

* * *

 

For about a week and a half, McGonagall laid in that cat bed. Every other day she tried to put some weight on her leg and eventually the pain had subsided enough for her to stumble around the bedroom a bit. Wendy saw her walking, and was delighted that her Tabby up and about.

Over the next two days, McGonagall tried to look at Wendy's mark, but it was always half covered by a sleeve. Finally, just after one of Wendy's showers, she saw her chance to get a better look. As Wendy kneeled on the floor to open the bottom drawer on her dresser McGonagall saw it. It was definitely the one—a dolphin shaped birthmark. She couldn't believe her luck.  _"After sixteen years I find her in_ _ **America**_ _of all places. I must get her out of here."_

After Wendy was dressed, McGonagall gently put her mouth around her sleeve and pulled. Wendy looked down at the cat with a puzzled expression. "What are you doing, Tabby?" McGonagall pulled harder, then jumped down and headed for the door. She stopped halfway and looked back at Wendy expectantly. "You want me to follow you?" A loud me-yow was her answer, so she hopped down off the bed and shrugged. "Okay. I'm always game for weird stuff," she said as she followed the cat down the stairs and out the front door. Her 'family' were all planted in front of the TV.

Once they were outside, McGonagall led Wendy to a clearing in the woods behind the house.  _"This looks like a good spot,"_  McGonagall thought. Wendy watched the cat sit down and followed suit. The cat put a paw on Wendy's wrist and stared into her eyes for a moment before turning back into a human. As soon as the paw had become a hand she grabbed the wrist tight. Wendy's eyes were round as saucers as she tried to scuttle backward, but it was to no avail. "Please do not be frightened, Wendy. You must listen to me." Something about McGonagall's kind voice made Wendy relax a bit. "I have to take you home."

 

* * *

BRITAIN

Harry stood in the doorway of the girl's dormitory, watching Hermione staring at a picture of Professor McGonagall. He walked over to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Hermione looked at him gratefully. "They'll find her. It'll be okay."

Hermione looked into Harry's eyes and, not for the first time that year, she felt a wave of warmth wash over her at seeing the twinkle that was there. She often tried to push away the feelings that surfaced when he was around, but it was very difficult. It was difficult to ignore the crop of black, unruly hair that fell into his face in such a sexy way; the emerald eyes that pierced her soul, the chiseled body and tan that had been formed out of so many hours of Quidditch, and the deep, yet soft voice he now had thanks to puberty.

Since she had used a charm on her hair that made it soft and shiny, Hermione was getting a lot more attention from the boys. That and the fact that she now had a shapely body that included a C-cup sized chest. Most of the girls were B-cups, which meant a lot of them were now distancing themselves from her because of jealousy. They were sick of the way she monopolized the time of the fifth and sixth-year male population of Hogwarts and had told her as much. She hadn't meant to monopolize, but she couldn't be rude and completely ignore her callers. She had told them politely that she wasn't interested but they kept at it anyway.

Hermione didn't feel even remotely romantic about any of the boys except for Harry, and even that she tried to ignore. He was, after all, one of her best friends, and she was afraid of what would happen if they went for a relationship and things didn't work out. Her trance was broken by an excited Ron bursting into the dormitory. "They found her!" was all it took for Hermione to nearly knock both of her friends over in her rush to get out the door.

 

* * *

 

The Great Hall was bustling with excitement. The trio quickly made their way to their seats and watched the head table expectantly.

Dumbledore raised his hand to silence the crowd. "Thank you all for assembling so quickly. Professor McGonagall should be here at any moment." Almost as if on cue, a huge round of applause broke out among the students. McGonagall strode in and stood in front of the head table.

"Thank you, everyone. It is most pleasing to receive such a heartfelt welcome home," McGonagall said and then waited for the clapping to die down. "I apologize I must make my immediate appearance brief, however. Harry Potter, I need to have a word with you in private. Everyone, please enjoy the celebration," she said as she left the room and beckoned Harry to follow her. Ron and Hermione looked at him as if to ask what was going on, but Harry just shrugged.

 

* * *

Harry walked down the hall with an air of great curiosity about him. What could be so important that it could take McGonagall away from her welcome home celebration? She led Harry down to her office and told him to wait outside for a moment. Harry peered in through the glass in the door to see her talking to a girl he'd never seen before. McGonagall squeezed the girl's shoulder to comfort her and waved Harry in. He sat down in a chair across from the girl. It was strange but he felt like he'd known her all his life.

McGonagall sat down and took a deep breath. "Harry, this is a day I have waited for, for nearly sixteen years. This is Wendy Byrum." Wendy smiled nervously. "Like you Harry, she'd had no idea the wizarding world existed. She has lived with muggles most of her life." The word 'most' caught Harry's attention. "I was in cat form in America looking for potion ingredients when a falling tree branch knocked me unconscious." Harry winced. "Wendy thought I was a genuine feline. She took me to her home and took care of me until I awoke. I realized by the birthmark on her arm that the muggles she was living with were not her true family and that she was of wizard parentage. Needless to say, I brought her here."

Harry just sat there, not quite sure of what McGonagall was trying to say. "Harry. What I must tell you will come as a bit of a shock. Harry. Wendy is ..." McGonagall was cut off by screams emanating from the hallway.


	2. Enter The Beast

 

Harry, Wendy, and McGonagall rushed from the office to find a pegasus barreling through the hallway, scattering students everywhere. Potted plants were knocked from their stands by its great wings and the paintings all ducked as the magnificent creature ran past. "How on Earth did that get in here?!" McGonagall said with surprise.

Without missing a beat Wendy moved in front of the winged horse and held up her hands. Harry was all ready to push Wendy out of the way when the pegasus came to a screeching halt just inches in front of her. She moved toward it talking softly. "Shhhhhhh. It's okay. I won't hurt you," she cooed as she stroked its nose. Her words were the only sound in the hall.

McGonagall looked surprised but had kept her composure for the most part. She strode over to Wendy. "Why didn't you tell me you were a beastmaster?"

Wendy's eyes widened a bit. "So...there's a name for what I can do." Her expression became embarrassed. "Well, with everything you guys could do I didn't think you'd care about something so small."

McGonagall looked taken aback but remembered quickly that Wendy wouldn't realize that such a thing was significant. "A beastmaster isn't rare, but it is quite uncommon. Only a dozen or so are born per generation," she said. "Our Care of Magical Creatures professor would give his right hand to be a beastmaster."

Almost as if to prove McGonagall's point Hagrid came huffing up the hall with a broken lead in his massive hands. "I," cough, "I don't know how ye did it miss, but thank ye fer stoppin' her."

McGonagall was tapping her foot. "What is the meaning of this Hagrid?"

Hagrid shuffled his foot. "I'm sorry. I was tryin' te walk her past the main doors when Draco Malfoy threw a snap at her—and since the doors were open due te the weather..."

McGonagall looked extremely annoyed. "Hagrid. You should not have brought her so near the school building. As for Malfoy, I'll deal with him later," she said, narrowing her eyes.

Wendy began to choke back tears of joy. "I can't believe it. A real pegasus. She's so beautiful." She turned back toward the large animal. "Hello, girl. You're very pretty. Yes, you are," she sniffed.

Dumbledore walked up to the group. He had apparently been watching the entire thing. Wendy wiped her eyes.

"Albus. Why aren't you still with the students?" asked McGonagall.

Dumbledore smiled. "I decided I did not wish to miss such a momentous occasion." He looked at Wendy. "Is this her?" he asked.

McGonagall nodded and smiled, then led Dumbledore, Harry, and Wendy back into the office.

Once everyone was inside Dumbledore looked to McGonagall. "Do you mind if I continue this, Minerva?"

McGonagall smiled. "Not at all, Albus," she said as she seated herself.

"Good to see you're alright Harry," Dumbledore said with relief in his voice. "And you too, Wendy Byrum," he paused a moment. "Or should I say, Wendy Potter?"

Harry whipped his head around to his left and just stared at Wendy with a look of utter shock. She gave him a half-hearted smile, not knowing what to say.

Dumbledore squared his shoulders and spoke again. "I must say, you gave us quite the chase. The wizard who took you put an anti-search charm on your hand. That's why none of the location spells we used worked."

At that time Harry said in a choked tone. "What are you talking about?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Please sit down...both of you," he said as he himself sat in the large armchair by the fireplace. He suddenly looked his age; worn...tired. "I've always had trouble accepting that so many tragedies could befall one family, but before you lost your parents, you also lost someone else." He scratched the small area on top of his head where the hair was thinning. "Harry...Wendy is your sister."

Harry was stunned into silence. Finally, he spoke in a very small voice. "Sister...I have a sister?" he said, only half believing it.

Dumbledore continued. "Wendy was James and Lilly's first child. One night, while they were on holiday in London, someone stole Wendy right out of her carriage. She was only a year old. We launched an enormous search but she was nowhere to be found. The Potters were devastated. Not long after, they discovered that you were to be born Harry," Dumbledore sighed sadly, "And only one year after that we lost them and nearly you." He paused for a moment and then half laughed. "It's amazing to think that we only found Wendy because Minerva was desperate to remove a few wrinkles."

McGonagall shot Dumbledore a withering glare.

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Harry with a bit of irritation in his voice.

"You had already been through so much. I did not want to bring you more pain by telling you there was yet another family member that you had lost," Dumbledore said regretfully.

Harry looked at Wendy again. After a moment of staring a small smile slowly played across his lips. Wendy followed in kind. The smile quickly grew into a huge grin as Harry ran over to Wendy and gave her a huge bear hug. "Um, Harry? Air, becoming an issue here."

A voice came from behind the newly reunited Potters. "I can't believe she's actually here," said Sirius.

"How long have you been standing there?" asked Harry.

Sirius smiled. "Long enough."

 

* * *

 

"Why?" asked Ron through a mouthful of mashed potatoes. Wendy had just finished telling the trio that she would be starting school with the first years.

"I would think that's obvious Ron," said Hermione. "She knows nothing about magic. It would be silly to put her in our class."

Wendy nodded in agreement. "Yeah. At least I'm in Gryffindor, so we can still hang out." The trio looked at her, confused. "Urm, that's a bit American, isn't it? I meant we can spend time together."

Harry looked at his sister. "You have your first flying lesson today, don't you?"

Wendy suddenly looked like she'd won a million galleons. "Yeah! I can't wait! I've been dreaming of flying all my life! Granted I won't be totally free cause ya hafta use a broom n' all, but it's the closest I'll ever get to flyin' under my own power." Everyone just sat there and blinked. She'd said all this very rapidly. She noticed the blank stares and blushed furiously. "Sorry. I can be kinda hyper sometimes. But ever since Professor McGonagall told me about riding broomsticks I haven't thought about much else."

"It's the best feeling in the world. You'll love it," said Harry smiling. Wendy grinned. She'd had a lot of culture shock since she moved to the school. Harry had been very patient with her America slang and phrases, explaining to her what to replace them with so people would know what she was talking about.

* * *

 

"Alright, Miss Potter, your turn," said Madam Hooch. Wendy continued to talk to the girl next to her. "MISS POTTER!"

Wendy jumped. "S...Sorry, I'm still getting used to the new last name."

Madam Hooch nodded. "Very well then. Mount your broom please."

As Wendy prepared for her first take off Harry watched from the edge of the field. He was very curious to see if Wendy would show the same talent he did the first time he flew. Professor Flitwick had given him special permission to skip class.

He still couldn't believe he had a sister. He was thinking of asking Sirius if she could move in with them at the end of the school year but he wanted to get to know her better first.

What Harry really had a hard time believing was the strangely warm feelings he'd had for Hermione lately. This was the same girl who had annoyed the hell out of him during the beginning of his first year at Hogwarts. Then they'd become friends, then good friends, and now...now he didn't know. She was definitely a lot more beautiful then she used to be. It was amazing what fixing her teeth and a good hair charm had done to her looks. He'd nearly choked when he saw how she looked at the Yule Ball.  _"Maybe I should talk to her about this."_  He knew it wasn't love yet but it was way more than friendship.

"Miss Potter, stop showing off!" yelled Madam Hooch. Harry snickered as he watched Wendy doing loops. She looked like she was having the time of her life. He was glad. He knew how much flying meant to her. The class ended and Harry left the field to go to lunch.

 

* * *

 

Harry walked up to the fat lady. "Wishing star," he said tiredly. When the portrait opened and Harry stepped inside, he stopped short. He heard crying coming from the back of the dark common room. Harry lit his wand and went to see who it was. He found Wendy huddled on the rug near the entrance to the girl's dormitory. "Wendy?"

Wendy startled and looked at her brother. She began hurriedly wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "H...Harry. Hi."

"Are you okay?" Harry asked with concern.

"Yeah. I was just lookin' out the window, and I started to think about Mom and Dad." Harry sat down next to Wendy. "I used to dream all the time about my real parents coming to take me away. I'd always wanted to meet 'em. Then Professor McGonagall told me they were dead. It just really hit me hard tonight. Sorry."

"It's okay. I know exactly how you feel," Harry said with a sympathetic smile. He gave Wendy a hug.  _"I wish we could see them too."_

 

* * *

 

Harry's sleep was filled with disturbing dreams. He walked through the forbidden forest in his night robes. He seemed to be looking for something. Suddenly he stopped, crouched down and picked up a small object. He couldn't see it very well, so he lit the end of his wand. The light shone on a gorgeous blue crystal. It was multifaceted and about the size of the snitch. He held it up closer to his face and saw smoky shapes swirling around inside it.

The shapes in the crystal had just started to become clearer when a beast the likes of which Harry had never seen before, jumped in front of him and knocked the crystal out of his hands. Harry stared in pure terror at the creature. It was about ten feet tall, with two glowing, white eyes with no pupils. Its head was about the size of a basketball and its mouth was long, gaping, and had two rows of very long, very thin teeth which gave its face the appearance of a deep sea fish. The leathery-skinned, muscular body, which was littered with cats claw-shaped spikes, was supported by four legs. The back legs were short and thick. The front legs extended down from the creature's dark purple, almost black shoulders. The feet had three toes that each sported six inch, retractable claws. Its arms came out right next to the tops of the front legs. Both of its hands had six fingers which ended in very nasty looking black claws. Its last feature was a long scorpion-like tail with a scythe blade attached to it. Harry could do nothing, but scream and scream.

The cold water was actually a welcome thing compared to looking at the beast, but Harry was still annoyed. He wiped off his face and looked up to see Hermione standing over him with an empty cup.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but you were screaming in your sleep and I couldn't get you to stop."

Harry shivered; partly because of the water, but mostly from the memory of the beast. "It's okay. I didn't frighten you did I?"

Hermione shook her head. "What were you dreaming about?"

Harry described the creature to his friend. Hermione gulped. "Is it another premonition?"

Harry sighed. "I don't know."

 

* * *

 

"So tell her," said Ron as he scratched a mosquito bite on his arm. They were sitting in the library looking up spells that might tell Harry what his nightmare meant.

"It's not that easy. I'm not really sure what I feel myself," Harry replied.

"Ya know if it was any girl  _but_  Hermione, you'd be sure," Ron said as he flipped another page.

Harry rubbed his eyes with his palms. "You're probably right."

"Course I am," Ron replied, grinning.

Harry just rolled his eyes and sighed.

"What?" Ron prodded.

"Nothing," Harry replied as he shook his head.

"I hate it when you do that. What?"

Harry chuckled. "You're just a prat, that's what."

Ron playfully punched Harry in the arm. "Hey," Harry grumbled.

"Well, I'm going to see Hagrid," said Ron as he started to get up from the table. His knee hit the edge, which rocked the table and sent the heavy book he'd been reading to the floor with a loud thunk. This earned him an icy stare from the librarian.

"Okay. Hey, if you see Wendy there, tell her I need to talk to her."

"Yup," Ron called back as he walked down the hallway.

 

* * *

 

Wendy stroked the chimera's lion head as Hagrid washed the powerful animal. She turned her attention to the goat head which was nuzzling her hand in an effort to get petted. She heard someone behind her and turned to find Ron. Unfortunately, when she was distracted she lost her hold on the chimera and it went wild. Ron and Wendy jumped out of the way as the chimera's dragon-headed tailed sailed towards them.

Ron turned to Wendy. "Can't you stop it?" he said as he ducked the tail again.

"I have to be able to look in its eyes!" Wendy screamed as she rolled out of the way of the chimera's claws.

Suddenly a cloud of dust surrounded the chimera and the great beast fell to the ground with a thud. Hagrid wiped the remaining dust off his hands. "Yer shouldn' sneak up on a beastmaster when they's workin' Ron. It's righ' dangerous. Yer lucky I had some sleeping powder left from handling the dragons fer the wizardin' tournament."

Ron sighed in relief. "Harry wants to see you," he said as he turned to Wendy

Wendy tore her eyes away from the sleeping form of the Chimera. "You all set with the chimera Hagrid?"

"Yeah, I'll jes put 'im back in 'is pen."

"Kay. I'll see ya later then," Wendy said as she headed back up to the castle.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like it. Just to let you know the Harry Hermione relationship will heat up later. I just wanted to go a little slower on their romantic realizations than in other fics I've read. Most other writers make them seem to have either loved each other all along or they go from friends one second to saying they love each other in the next second. But even though I'm going slow you don't have to worry cause this fic is a pretty good length.


	3. Ron the Death Eater?

"What's up?" said Wendy as she sat down at the table where Harry was.

"Do you have nightmares with a monster in them?"

Wendy was puzzled. "Yeah, most people do, Harry," she said as she blew a stray strand of hair out of her face.

"No, I mean a specific monster." Harry went on to describe the monster from his dream. Wendy's mouth hung open when he had finished.

"How's this possible?" Wendy said when she'd found her voice. "How can we have the same dream?"

"I don't know."

"Could it mean something?"

"I don't know."

Wendy's shoulders sagged. "You're not helping." She sighed. "Maybe we should go into the forest and take a look," she whispered.

Harry gaped at her. "Are you nuts?"

"Going there would be the best way to figure this out."

Harry looked contemplative. Finally, he gave in. "Okay. I'll take Hermione and Ron with me."

"What about me?" she said with her hands out.

"You're staying here," Harry said as he closed the book in front of him.

"I don't think so," Wendy replied, looking indignant.

"You barely know any magic. I'd spend most of the time trying to keep you safe."

"I guess you're right." Wendy sighed and gave Harry a hug. "Be careful, Bro." Harry shook his head at the statey speak.

"We better head back to the common room. It's getting late."

 

* * *

 

"Harry, aren't you just the slightest bit sick of nearly getting killed?" Hermione said in exasperation as she did a quick about-face to look Harry in the eyes.

"Mione, I need to do this. If Wendy's having these dreams too then this is too important to ignore," Harry said as he sat on one of the garden's stone benches.

Hermione sighed. "I just don't want you to get hurt." She turned away and lowered her head. "I hate it when you get hurt," she said softly. Harry thought he heard something else in her voice—something that sounded like a deep fear.

Harry looked at Hermione quizzically for a moment before answering. "I know." He smiled at her and gave her shoulder a small squeeze.

"Well let's at least wait till Percy goes back to the ministry. I don't feel like dealing with him if we're caught." Ron said as he shuddered.

"Alright," Harry agreed. Just then the trio heard whispering coming from the other side of the bush next to them.

"Are you sure the Ministry hasn't made a mistake? I mean, the very idea of a Weasley being a death eater is laughable," said one voice. Harry and Hermione stared at Ron open-mouthed and he made an over exaggerated shrug.

"I overheard the new Ministry head talking about it to Professor Dumbledore," said the other student.

"What's the new head's name anyway?"

"Rachel Tigerlilly."

The trio snickered a bit but quickly caught themselves before they were given away.

"So anyway Tigerlilly said she found the death eater symbol in Ron's schoolbag." She looked at her watch. "Bloody hell, we're late. Let's go."

Ron felt like he couldn't breathe. He also must have looked like he couldn't because Harry started patting him on the back. "Ron. Ron, snap out of it!"

Ron started talking like he was in a panicked trance. "I'm gonna go to Azkaban. I'm gonna be locked away for life. I'm gonna die!"

Harry started shaking Ron. "Come on! Stop it!"

Hermione pushed Harry to one side and slapped Ron across the face. Ron was instantly angry. "What was that for?!"

Hermione kept her composure. "I did it to stop you from being hysterical."

Ron began to cry. "What am I going to do?"

"We'll find out what's going on. We know you're not guilty," said Harry with a determined look.

 

* * *

 

"It must've been Malfoy," Harry said angrily as he paced the floor of the common room.

"What'll we do? Ron's trial starts tomorrow," said Wendy who was sitting on the floor.

"We have to prove Malfoy put the symbol there," said Hermione.

"How? It's not like this place has surveillance cameras," said Wendy.

"Surveillance cameras? What are those?" asked Ron.

Harry waved him off. "Never mind."

"I'll reckon Percy is all ready to take me to Azkaban himself," Ron said miserably as he sunk to the floor, folded his arms on his knees and buried his face in his arms.

"Don't be silly. He's your brother," said Hermione.

Ron suddenly got very angry and his head snapped upwards. "You don't KNOW him like I do! He wouldn't save me for anything! All he cares about is his career!" Ron yelled. He suddenly froze and his face went white as a sheet. Percy was standing in the doorway.

"Is that what you think of me?" Percy looked like he wanted to be sick. "I love you, Ron. I can't believe you don't know that."

"Perc I..." Ron stuttered.

"I came to inform you that I asked Tigerlilly if I could be your defense counsel and she has accepted. Good day!" Percy said as he turned to leave.

"Percy, wait," said Ron as he reached his hand toward his brother.

"Save it!" Percy snapped as he stormed out the entrance.

 

* * *

 

Ron paced the floor of the room Hogwarts had set aside for the trial. Percy sat calmly at his desk and every once in a while he shot Ron a withering look. The door to the room opened and Dumbledore, Tigerlilly, Harry, Hermione, Wendy, and Ron's parents entered. Once everyone had taken their seats Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Ronald Weasley I trust I do not have to remind you that complete truthfulness is of the utmost importance." Ron nodded nervously. "Very well then. Let us begin."

Tigerlilly stood to her full height which was an impressive six feet 5 inches. "Ronald Weasley. You are charged with being a death eater. Evidence of this is the discovery of the death eater symbol in your schoolbag. Can you explain this?"

Ron looked to Percy who nodded. "I...I don't know. I hate Voldemort. I'd never sign up with that nutter. You've got to believe me!" he cried as he burst into tears.

Percy tensed and spoke. "I ask that the Ministry would please excuse the emotional outburst from my client. He is under extreme stress."

Tigerlilly nodded. "So noted." The trial continued with many character witnesses, the viewing of the mark (Which made everybody wince), and in the end, even Dumbledore took the stand to give light to the many instances in which Ron had helped to save the wizarding world from Voldemort.

Tigerlilly sat with her chin resting on her interlaced fingers. "Mr. Weasley. You and your council have three days to find out who, if not yourself, put the mark in your bag. The Ministry will also conduct its own separate investigation. If nothing is found to prove your innocence at that time you will be sent to the juvenile sector of Azkaban. This trial is adjourned," she said and banged her gavel.

 

* * *

 

Harry tossed in his sleep. He was dreaming about that crystal again, only this time just before the monster showed up he said the crystal's name. He woke up and bolted upright. "The Soul Crystal?" he said in between gasps.

Harry sat in his bed for a while, just reflecting on the dream. He laid down and rolled onto his side. "Why do I have dreams like this? Am I psychic or something?" He tried to go back to sleep but it was no use. This dream plus Ron's predicament was just too much. He got on his robe, flung the invisibility cloak over himself, grabbed a comic book and went down to the common room to read.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the courtroom scene was a bit short. I wanted it to be brief cause I've never written a court scene before and I was worried that I might write something dumb. Lol.


	4. The Swarm

Most of the sixth year students were standing in the field, waiting for their Care of Magical Creatures class to start. Ron was staring at the sky when he heard a familiar, annoying voice behind him.

"Enjoying your trial Weasley?" Draco sneered.

Ron spun around and glared at Draco. "Sod off, you ass!" he growled.

Draco's smirk grew wider. "Ah, such a shame. Your bag just happened to be too close to Potter's."

All at once, realization and anger blazed across Ron's face. "YOU BASTARD!" he roared.

Ron's yell of rage got the attention of Harry and Hermione, who had been out of earshot due to the fact that they were trying to catch a particularly annoying field gnome who had stolen Harry's quill. They hurried over to where Ron and Draco were standing.

Hermione had a scowl on her face as she turned to Draco. "What have you done now, you little worm?!"

" _Couldn't she come up with something a little more insulting?"_  Harry thought.

Ron pointed stiffly at the blonde haired boy in front of him. "HE put the mark in my bag!"

"What?!" Harry said in a raised voice.

"Heh. You should feel lucky Potter," he said, practically spitting Harry's family name, "If I wasn't in such a rush you'd be the one headed for Azkaban."

Harry's face fell. "You were after...me?" He felt sick to his stomach. His best friend was in trouble because yet another person had tried to hurt him.

Draco was more than gratified at the expression on Harry's face.

Hermione was about to make a venomous reply when she noticed Sirius walking towards the group of students. "Harry, look," she said, pointing in Sirius' direction.

Sirius had a severe look on his face and was slowly, and deliberately, looking all around. Harry felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Sirius came to a stop just in front of Hagrid's hut. He let out a breath. "Everyone get back inside. Something's wrong. The wind doesn't smell right."

The students, amid much grumbling, turned to go in. The trio walked quickly to catch up to Sirius. "What's the matter?" asked Harry.

"You smell that?" Sirius said, looking toward the sky.

Harry sniffed the air. "Yeah. It smells like sulfur."

"I think we have a swarm of bubble sprites coming our way," Sirius warned.

"Bubble sprites?" Ron laughed. "That doesn't sound dangerous," he said, laughing even harder.

"Believe me, it's very dangerous," Sirius replied. Several students suddenly pointed at the sky. A cloud of bubbles was heading toward them, descending fast. Sirius's eyes widened. "Everybody run!" he screamed. The students looked at him with confusion until one of the girls squealed in fright as a large number of the softball-sized bubbles surrounded her, flattened themselves out and linked together form one large bubble which lifted her into the air. All at once the previously calm students became a mass of panicked bodies all fighting to get ahead of the crowd and reach the safety of the castle.

Because the trio had been with Sirius they were now the furthest away from the doors. Sirius told them to go ahead without him. Ten more students had been trapped in bubbles. The situation was getting desperate.

The bubble holding the first victim began to glow. It got brighter and brighter until the girl sank to the floor of her prison and finally passed out. At that moment seven more teachers, including Dumbledore and McGonagall, rocketed by the trio on their broomsticks, dodging bubbles as they went.

Percy was watching the attack and was about to go help when Tigerlilly spoke. "You don't have their experience, Percy. Stay back," she said. Percy reluctantly leaned against the wall. Sirius, Flitwick and Madam Hooch aimed their wands at the bubble, yelled a spell and the bubble broke apart into separate sprites in midair. The sprites that had fed were now a bright purple color and had taken on their true form which looked like someone had made little people with pixie wings out of balloons. Madam Hooch flew under the girl and caught her. She then placed her fingers on the girl's neck to check for a pulse. She sadly shook her head. The sprites had drained all her life force. The other sprites that held prisoners, seeing this attack on their kin, flew away at enormous speed. All the teachers chased after them.

The trio was almost to the castle when Draco Malfoy knocked Ron to the ground yelling "Out of my way Weasley." as he ran by. Ron was quickly overtaken by the remaining sprites. Harry and Hermione didn't notice until he yelled for help. He was banging on the inside wall of his captors. "RON!" Harry and Hermione screamed.

Percy looked up at Harry and Hermione's cries. "NO!" he yelled. He tried to go to Ron but Tigerlilly had a firm grasp on his arm. "Let me go! I have to help Ron!"

Tigerlilly stood her ground. "I will not allow you to help a Death Eater," she growled.

Percy looked at Tigerlilly with fire in his eyes. "RON IS NOT A DEATH EATER!" he bellowed as he tore himself from her grasp. Percy called for his broom and mounted it as soon as it got to him.

"Weasley, if you help him, you're fired," said Tigerlilly warningly.

"Sod off, Rachel! He's my brother!" Percy yelled. He headed for Ron's bubble at lightning speed. It began to glow and Percy pushed his broom even harder, panic filling every fiber of his being. He suddenly realized he didn't know the spell to free Ron. Instead, he did the only thing he could think of. With an extra burst of speed, he shot into Ron's bubble like a runaway javelin. Ron and Percy's broom were both pushed out of the bubble. Percy was now trapped inside. Hermione caught Ron and was knocked backward from the impact. Both of them rolled to a stop on the ground.

"Ron. Ron! Wake up!" Hermione said urgently.

Ron's eyes fluttered open. "Mione? What the bloody hell happened?" he said.

"Percy saved you," said Harry softly.

Ron blinked in surprise. "He did?"

Ron looked up to see Percy trying to use his wand to pop the bubble. He stared in horror as Percy's efforts became more and more strained. Finally, Percy slumped forward and fell, face down. "PERCY!" Ron screamed. A beam of light shot from somewhere behind them and lanced the bubble.

The angry sprites turned on the teachers. "Incendio!" McGonagall yelled and a huge ball of flame engulfed the sprites, killing them instantly. Harry turned to see Dumbledore and the other teachers had returned with ten weak but very much alive students. Sirius caught Percy and quickly landed.

Dumbledore told Madam Hooch to take the rescued students to the infirmary.

The trio ran to the spot where Percy lay. Sirius was trying various revival spells while everyone looked on. Ron was breathing very quickly, close to hyperventilating. Harry was holding Ron's left hand, Hermione his right. Ron had tears streaming down his face as he choked back silent sobs. Eventually, Sirius resorted to trying CPR. "Come on Percy. Breath dammit!" he commanded as he did more chest compressions. Five minutes went by. He didn't give up easily but even he knew when something was hopeless. Finally, he looked up at Ron. Regret filled every crevice of his face as he spoke. "Ron...I...I'm so sorry. He's gone."

It was as if a flood gate had opened behind Ron's eyes. "NO! Please. Th...There's gotta be something else you can try!" he pleaded with Sirius. Sirius just shook his head sullenly. Ron flung himself down on his brother's still form. "Percy, please! Please wake up!" he cried as he shook Percy's body. "You can't leave! You just can't!" he hugged Percy tightly. "Oh God! Percy! Percy! Percyyyyyyyyy!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read and review. Thanks! Let me just apologize in advance to all who like Percy. Really...REALLY apologize.


	5. The Vengeful Weasley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now...time for some much-needed Draco bashing... ;)

THE BURROW

He just sat there. It was all so surreal. What had happened? Oh yeah. His brother was dead. And why was he dead? Because he had saved Ron's life—Something Ron had never seen coming. Why hadn't he known that his brother cared? He and the twins had spent so much time making fun of him and his high and mighty attitude. The casket seemed to float past. He couldn't see the pallbearers...only the casket. He had often thought of how Percy would feel if he had died. Now Ron knew the answer to this question. Percy had given his life so he wouldn't have to find out. In death, Percy had somehow become the brother Ron had never imagined he was in life.

Ron looked at his parents. They couldn't stop crying. Fred and George just looked lost. Ginny had been so upset that she'd locked herself in her room and wouldn't come out. Charlie and Bill sat in their seats with their heads in their hands. Harry and Hermione looked sad but they weren't hurting nearly as much as him. Ron had always loved Percy deep down but he had never known he'd be in so much pain.

Ron's parents had always said they stopped at seven children because seven was a lucky number. Where was that luck four days ago? He walked up to the casket.  _"Percy looks so peaceful,"_  he thought. It was strange. Percy was never peaceful.  _"There should be a holier than thou scowl on his face...not this fake smile."_  His resolve began to crumble as his body started shaking a little.  _"This is wrong..."_  Tears spilled down his cheeks. "...all WRONG!" he yelled out loud. He couldn't take it. He ran down the isle and into the woods behind the house.

Harry was about to go after Ron, but Hermione put a gentle hand on his shoulder and shook her head. "He needs some time alone," she said. Harry nodded.

 

* * *

THREE DAYS LATER

Everyone had gathered for the second half of Ron's trial. The room was very quiet. Even Tigerlilly looked solemn as she banged the gavel on the desk. "This trial will now commence," she said off-handedly. She ran her fingers through her navy blue hair and sighed. "Ronald Weasley. Initially, I was prepared to send you to Azkaban." Ron flinched "But I feel I must take recent events into account. I knew Percy very well, and I know he wouldn't have sacrificed himself if he believed even for one instant that you were guilty. Therefore, the charges against you are hereby dismissed."

Ron should have been ecstatic, but all he managed was a mumbled: "Thank you."

"This trial is over. Please accept my sincerest condolences, Ron. Percy was a good man," Tigerlilly said sympathetically.

As everyone was leaving the room Ron spotted Malfoy walking down the corridor and something inside him snapped. He broke away from his Mother's comforting arms and ran at Malfoy screaming at the top of his lungs. Malfoy just stood there looking like a deer caught in a car's headlights. Harry would have laughed if he hadn't been so shocked.

Ron collided with Malfoy, knocking him to the floor. He threw punch after punch into every part of Malfoy's shaking body. Blood began flowing from Malfoy's nose and mouth. "Someone get him off me! He's gone crazy!" Malfoy yelled. The crack of his nose breaking brought everyone out of their stunned trance.

Ron's parents ran over to the fight and tried to control him with no success. "IT'S HIS FAULT!" Ron screamed. "IF HE HADN'T PUSHED ME DOWN PERCY WOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO SAVE ME!" he cried as tears came from his crazed eyes. "HE KILLED PERCY!" Malfoy's face began to take on an ugly purple color.

Dumbledore decided Malfoy had finally had enough. Although truth be told he thought Malfoy deserved what he got. He aimed his wand at Ron. "Wingardium Leviosa," he said calmly. Ron lifted upwards, still punching and kicking at the air.

Ron was furious. "Lemme down! Lemme down!"

Dumbledore simply shook his head and walked down the hall toward an empty classroom, dragging Ron behind him like a helium balloon.

 

* * *

2 MONTHS LATER...

Ron was adjusting. He had pretty much gone back to being himself. Occasionally he would get depressed and mope for a few days but Madam Pomfrey had assured Harry and Hermione that this was normal. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Wendy busied themselves with trying to find out just what the heck the soul crystal was.

Hagrid sat by himself on the porch swing in the Hogwarts gardens. It groaned under his weight. He sighed. He hadn't seen the air at Hogwarts this dismal since the Potters had been killed. Why had the bubble sprites been out of the forest? They normally fed only on bright spots; free-floating balls of magic that rose up out of enchanted swamps. He had a sudden flash of inspiration and jumped off the swing, heading for Dumbledore's office as fast as he could run.

 

* * *

Dumbledore paced back and forth in front of his desk. Every once in a while he'd stop as though he were thinking and then go back to pacing. Finally, he sank into his chair. "So...It's awake," he remarked with a horrible sound of finality in his voice.

"I think so. What else would scare bubble sprites outta their swamp?" replied Hagrid as he fidgeted with the ties on his coat.

"Ask the centaurs to keep an eye out for the crystal. In the meantime, I shall notify the ministry. We will need guards at the forest edge." Dumbledore had his expression set in such a way that he might as well have been made of stone.

"Yes Sir," said Hagrid as he rose out of his chair and turned to leave.

"Oh, and Hagrid?" Dumbledore said with a stern tone.

"Yeah?" Hagrid paused in the doorway.

"Harry must not know of this. If he finds out what that crystal may hold I doubt all the magic in the world could keep him from trying to acquire it."

"Course Professor. I won' slip up like last time. Yeh can coun' on me," Hagrid said proudly.

"I know I can," Dumbledore said firmly.

 

* * *

Harry dropped his head on his desk. He hadn't gotten much sleep lately and it showed in the lazy scrawling he'd been doing on his parchment. Professor McGonagall frowned as she came across his desk. "Harry. This is not art class," she said as she tapped the drawing with the end of her wand.

Harry looked up with droopy eyes. "Sorry."

Professor McGonagall sighed. "Just see that it doesn't happen again."

As class ended McGonagall called for the trio to stay behind. As they stood in front of her desk they knew there were some uncomfortable questions coming. "I want to know what you three have been doing up so late at night," she said as she tapped her fingers on the desk.

They knew she was right and there was no way around it. "Harry's been having some strange dreams lately and we've been doing research to learn what they're about," said Hermione, a little too fast.

McGonagall folded her arms. "I trust you did not leave the common room whilst doing this research?" All three students shook their heads rapidly. "Because your only crime thus far is nearly falling asleep in my class I'll only deduct five points from Gryffindor." The trio bit their lips. "Now scat. Before I change my mind," she said as she pointed toward the door.

 

* * *

Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Wendy arrived at the front gates after visiting Hagrid to find Lee Jordan and the Weasley twins huddled together, talking excitedly over a leather pouch in Fred's hand. Lee (A/N- Lee was also held back.) and the twins hid the pouch behind their backs as soon as they saw the other students.

Wendy had become good friends with Lee and the twins over the past few months. She also loved practical jokes and, much to Harry's chagrin, had gone with them on several prank runs.

Wendy ran toward the twins, wanting to see their new product when she tripped on a mound of earth and fell. Her falling hands hit the pouch and sent its contents flying. Hundreds of tiny, pink pellets rained all over the ground.

Fred and George looked absolutely crestfallen. There was no way their mother wasn't going to hear about this.

The ground shook slightly and then the pellets began to sprout something. Hermione and the others squinted to see what was coming up. The sprouts shot up to their full height and took their final form. The students burst out laughing. The majestic grounds of Hogwarts were covered in pink, plastic lawn flamingos.

The Twins and Lee shot Wendy a look that said they weren't too happy with her. She shrank back against her brother. "Ever notice how the Earth never opens up an' swallows you when you really need it to?" she said. Harry nodded through his giggles.

"FRED, GEORGE, and LEE! In my office! NOW!" came McGonagall's angry voice from the main doors. All three boys hung their heads and shuffled towards their impending doom.

 

* * *

 

Hermione's nightgown was plastered to her body with sweat. She was having a nightmare. In this dream, she had just finished telling Harry how she felt about him when Voldemort came out of nowhere and stabbed Harry through the heart with his wand. She sat up sharply in bed. Her hair was matted to the side of her head. "Oh God. Why? It's not fair. I want to tell him. But I'm scared now," she moaned. This nightmare was the reason she hadn't admitted her feelings to Harry yet, that and the fact that he had said more than once that he liked Cho.

Harry had told Hermione about the Soul Crystal. She swore she remembered reading about it somewhere in one of the library books, but when she went to read them again yesterday all books about the crystal had been removed from the shelves. The books about wizarding history from twenty years ago on were also missing in action. She had asked Dumbledore about it but he had just said it was for the best.

" _Damn Harry for being so cute anyway."_  Hermione thought.  _"I don't want to be in love with my best friend."_  She sucked in a breath.  _"Wait a minute. Love? Where did that come from?"_  She bit her lower lip. She had known she liked Harry, but could she really be in love with him?  _"Oh please no. Not Harry._ _ **Anyone**_ _but Harry. He's not interested in me. I know it. Just wonderful. I happen to be in love with someone I can't have."_  She felt like she wanted to cry.

Hermione suddenly had a desperate need to find out what the Soul Crystal was. Maybe if she found the information for him he could forget about Cho for a second. She groped around on the floor for her robe. She pulled it on and snuck into the boys' dormitory. After a moment of rooting around in Harry's trunk, she found the invisibility cloak. She threw it over herself and left the Gryffindor tower. She knew where to look for the books. She took a deep breath and silently headed for Dumbledore's office.


	6. Chapter 6

As Hermione tiptoed through the halls she saw Mrs. Norris and flattened herself against the wall. The cat stopped near Hermione's position, sniffed the air, and stalked away, obviously annoyed that she couldn't see what she could smell. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as soon as she believed Mrs. Norris was out of earshot.

Hermione rounded another corner and nearly choked when she saw what Peeves was up to. Up until then, she thought she had seen his most vulgar pranks...she was wrong. Peeves was putting very large, nude posters over the paintings in the hall ahead. The paintings in question were shouting in protest. Hermione had to bite her lip hard enough to draw blood to keep her self from scolding Peeves. It was against her very nature not to scold—although she had lightened up considerably over the last five years. She didn't want to risk Peeves flying into her so, hoping he was too busy with his prank to sense her presence-she dropped to the floor and began to crawl.

Finally in the clear, Hermione went through the secret passage and began the long climb to Dumbledore's office. She could hear the blood pounding in her ears with every step. When she reached the top she took out her wand and aimed it at the lock on the door. "Alohamora," she whispered. The lock undid itself and Hermione carefully opened the door and peeked inside. Seeing no signs of life in the room she began to slip through the door.

"Can I help you with something, Miss Granger?" came Dumbledore's voice from behind her. Hermione's blood turned to ice. Oh God. This was it. She was going to be expelled for sure and then... "Please come inside and sit, Hermione. I must speak with you." Hermione was confused but she followed the Headmaster into his office.

Dumbledore lit the fireplace and sat in one of the plush chairs next to it, beckoning Hermione to do the same. Dumbledore looked thoughtful as he stroked his beard for a moment. "I had hoped you could have had the sense to leave well enough alone. But since you seem to love Harry too much to do so I feel I must explain some things," Dumbledore said in an understanding tone.

Hermione cringed at hearing 'love'. There was that word again...in relation to Harry...again. She really didn't want to think about that at a time like this. She finally felt brave enough to speak. "So...so I'm not being expelled then sir?" she said with a slight twinge of fear in her voice.

Dumbledore chuckled lightly. "No dear girl. You are not being expelled. Although Gryffindor will lose some points I'm afraid." He sat quietly for a moment before speaking again. "I know Harry has told you about his dreams otherwise you would not be here now." He sighed. "What do you know about Voldemort's search for followers?"

Hermione instantly answered. "He looked for powerful wizards to join him...and he killed the ones who wouldn't do it," she said, thinking of Harry's parents.

"Do you know why he killed them instead of simply controlling their minds?"

Hermione shook her head and then had a sudden thought. "Does it have to do with the Soul Crystal?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Indeed it does. You see, Hermione, Voldemort was not very powerful at the beginning of his quest. He needed the Soul Crystal to become so. If one wizard kills another and has the Soul Crystal in their possession the fallen wizard's soul is drawn into the crystal and is trapped there. The soul's magic is then transferred, permanently, to the crystal bearer. With each new soul, the power of the crystal bearer grows. Now, as far we know, even though the souls no longer possess any magic they still exist within the crystal."

Hermione's eyes went wide. "Then...then that means Harry's parents could be inside the crystal!"

Dumbledore's face grew deadly serious. "Yes, they are. And Harry must never know of this."

Hermione was confused. "Why?"

"Because it is guarded by a terrible beast. I know Harry has dreamt of this too. Now listen to me very carefully. There is no way to bring Harry's parents back to life. It cannot be done. If you tell Harry what I have just told you, you will be putting his life in very serious danger for no reason. Can I trust you with this knowledge?" Dumbledore asked. Hermione reluctantly nodded her head. "Good girl."

 

* * *

Hermione pushed her eggs around her plate with her fork. Harry just stared at her. "So, Mione," he said, which made Hermione jump a bit, "You wanna tell us what's going on or should I guess?"

Hermione gulped, but not visibly. "Nothing really. I just...I thought I'd found something on the Soul Crystal in a book last night but it was a dead end," she said. Then, just for good measure, she returned to looking downcast at her eggs.

Suddenly the sound of a fork being tapped on a wine glass grabbed the attention of the entire dining hall. Dumbledore stood up from his seat. "Your attention, please. I must announce that the forest is now not only forbidden but, thanks to the ongoing investigation into the bubble sprite incident, it is also now guarded by members of The Ministry of Magic. Any attempt to penetrate the blockade will be met with immediate detention for the remainder of the school year" He stared at the crowd of students for a moment as if waiting for someone to raise their hand. "You may all now return to your meals," he said as sat down.

Harry had a severe look on his face. "Damn. Now what?"

Hermione spoke up. "Harry, maybe we should forget about the Soul Crystal. It could just be a crazy nightmare after all," she said a little too suspiciously. Ron, Harry, and Wendy turned to stare at Hermione.

"Are you nuts? This could be major important," said Wendy looking somewhat confused at Hermione's sudden change of heart. Hadn't she just been complaining about not finding the information she wanted?

"How do you know that? How do you know your dreams aren't the result of a spell cast on you two by the Death Eaters? How do you know this isn't a trap?" Hermione said with a raised voice.

Harry shushed Hermione. "Do you want everyone to hear?"

"Hear what?" came a familiar sleazy voice from behind Harry. The quartet all stared up into the face of Malfoy. "Now now. You four aren't talking about going into the forest again are you?" he said as he slithered over behind Hermione and tsk-tsked. "I wouldn't want my beautiful little mudblood getting all scratched up." He brushed a finger against Hermione's cheek which she immediately slapped away. Ever since Hermione had arrived that year with her new look Malfoy had been paying her way too much unwanted attention. Apparently, now that his hormones had come into play he no longer cared what Hermione was as long as he thought he had a chance to get her into the sack.

Harry was instantly on his feet. "Malfoy you leave her alone or I'll..." He shook with anger.

"Or you'll what? This is a room full of teachers you know." Harry clenched his teeth. "What's the matter, Potter? Afraid I'll snatch your girlfriend away from you?" he sneered.

Harry immediately turned tomato red. He was about to make a nasty retort when McGonagall stepped in. "Mr. Malfoy, I believe you sit at the Slytherin table, do you not?"

Malfoy nodded and stalked away and McGonagall went back to the head table. Harry slumped into his seat while his stomach did nervous flip-flops from hearing the word 'girlfriend' in reference to Hermione.  _"What was that feeling just now?"_  he wondered, thinking about when Malfoy was putting the moves on Hermione.  _"Was I...jealous?"_  he thought, the knot in his stomach tightening its grip.  _"I have to talk to her."_

 

* * *

 

Harry paced in the Gryffindor common room waiting for Hermione to get back from her trip to Hogsmeade with Wendy. The girls had said they were going to look at dresses for the dance. What was he going to say to her? That he had very strong feelings but that he didn't know if it was love? Maybe just asking her out on a simple first date would be in order. After all, he didn't want to scare her off.

The door to the common room opened and Harry, without looking to see who it was, turned and gave a big smile. When he saw it was not her, his face fell immediately.

Lee Jordan was confused. "What's with the sappy grin, Harry?"

"Nothing," Harry grumbled as he sunk down into a chair.

"Ahhhhh, I see. You thought I'd be, Hermione," Lee said with a smirk.

"No! That is...I..." Harry blew out a puff of air.

"If you don't ask her out soon you're gonna explode. You know that don't you?" Lee said as he sat opposite Harry.

"That's why I'm waiting for her here," Harry replied as he glanced at the door.

Lee chuckled. "If you were any more in love with her, her name would materialize on your forehead."

"I'm not in love with her!" Harry half yelled, half whispered. He sighed. "I don't know what the hell I'm feeling. I just know it's not love." Lee began intently staring at Harry's nose. "What are you doing?" Harry asked impatiently.

"Waiting for your nose to grow." Lee laughed.

"Sod off Lee," Harry said jokingly.

Lee grinned and grabbed a leather pouch off the fireplace mantle. "Just came in to get this for Fred and George. Want to work on it so the flamingos can come up in different colors."

Harry shook his head. "Be careful. If Professor McGonagall sees that you're gonna be cleaning Hagrid's animal stalls till you graduate."

" _Hermione's starting to rub off on him."_  Lee thought. He laughed and opened the door. Hermione was just walking up. Lee made an over exaggerated bow and smiled. "Lady Granger. Your knight...awaits."

Hermione gave Lee a confused look as he skipped away down the hall. "What was that all about?" she asked Harry.

"Nothing." Harry cleared his throat. "Mione, can I talk to you?" Harry said as he rubbed the back of his neck. He led her over to the window seat.

"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked.  _"He looks so serious. Is something wrong?"_

Harry looked down at the seat. He made a small half-laugh, more from nerves than anything. "Heh heh. It's funny. Now that you're here I'm not sure what I wanna say."

Hermione smiled warmly. "Take your time."

Harry looked up at her. "How do I?" He swallowed. "E...ever since we got to school this year I...feelings...that weren't there before keep coming up and...they're all about you."

Hermione's eyes fluttered in surprise. "Me?"

Inwardly Harry groaned in frustration. Where was that intuition of hers? Why wasn't it saving him from actually having to say the words? He sighed again. "I...I like you."

Hermione suddenly looked like she was going to cry. "You do?"

The look on Hermione's face made the bottom drop out Harry's stomach.  _"Oh God. She doesn't feel the same way. What have I done?"_  "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have said anything," he said quickly as he got up to leave.

Hermione suddenly realized he had taken her reaction the wrong way and grabbed Harry's wrist. "Harry, wait," she said as he turned to face her. She pulled on his wrist in order to get him to sit back down. "I wasn't upset," a small smile played across her lips as she saw Harry's face brighten a little, "I was just surprised...and happy." She smiled broadly. "I like you too."

"You do?" Harry said, barely daring to believe it.

Hermione, still smiling, nodded. "Uh huh."

Harry smiled and laughed lightly in relief. "Can...can I hug you?"

Hermione smiled and drew Harry into a warm embrace. Her heart was racing. It was so different than the other hugs she had given him. This one had a new purpose behind it. She felt like there was no other place in the world, but his arms.

As Harry held Hermione he stroked her hair. He had never hugged a girl this way before.  _"Has she always smelled this good?"_  He suddenly pushed her away a bit, so he could see her face, and drew in a long breath. "Will you go to the dance with me—as my date?"

Very slowly a smile spread across Hermione's face until she was grinning from ear to ear. "I'd love to Harry!"

Harry grinned. "Brilliant! I'm glad that's over. I was so afraid you'd say no."

Hermione leaned over and gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek. After doing so she blushed. "Now how could I say no to the boy who lived?" she said and went up to bed.

Harry laid down on the window seat and stared up at the night sky. The boy who lived felt very happy.


	7. Passion is the Fire in Which We Burn

Harry watched the teachers decorating the ballroom for the dance. The room was being made up to look like a forest of crystal. Small, free-floating balls of light hovered about 15 feet up. The effect on the crystal branches was dazzling. Harry sighed at the beauty of it. He finally had a date with Hermione. Why had he taken so long to ask her?  _"Bugger all, I'm a coward sometimes"_  he admonished himself.

Harry felt something smooth and cool touch the back of his hand. An enchanted crystal deer was nuzzling it. He smiled. The teachers were really going all out. It made him a little sad to know it was all being taken down again. The teachers thought it was best to test out their designs before the actual date of the dance so they could work out any problems. His thoughts were interrupted by Ron running toward him.

The youngest Weasley brother had an ear to ear grin on his face. Without a word, Ron grabbed Harry's arm, dragged him out into the hallway and into the boy's bathroom. He bent over for a moment so he could catch his breath. "Harry," Ron said in between gasps, "You'll never believe this." He brought his voice down to barely above a whisper. "I found what we were looking for!"

"Huh?" Harry replied, confused.

"I was in the library getting a book for class when I dropped my triggle root. It rolled under the bookcase and when I went down to get it I found this," he exclaimed as he proudly pulled a book from his bag. In blue metallic lettering, the title read 'Magical Artifacts Throughout History'. Harry snatched the book out of Ron's hand and began thumbing through it. "They must have missed it when they took all those books down."

They finally found the chapter they needed. Harry's heart pounded in his chest as he turned the pages. After reading it Harry slowly closed the book like he was in a trance. After a long silence, Harry swallowed. "Do you know what this means?"

Ron nodded. "We could bring back your parents..."

Harry let out a puff of air. "We could bring back everyone Voldemort killed."

 

* * *

 

Hermione stared longingly at the new indoor swimming pool being added on to the back of Hogwarts. Of course, all the new construction was being made to match the castle. New types of lessons would soon be had by students of Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions and Spell Casting. The teachers of those classes had asked for a pool so they could teach about things pertaining to large bodies of water without having to resort to trudging all the way down to the lake. It was also advantageous in case of rain.

Hermione couldn't wait. Hagrid had been going on and on about teaching them how to ride Argots. She had heard about them but she had never seen one, not in person anyway.

Her thoughts drifted to the other night. She'd been waiting so long for a date with Harry. She was happy but also a little worried. Her nightmares about Harry's death made her jump at every little sound. Well, things hadn't happened like in the dream anyway. He had asked her out, not the other way around. Maybe it was just a dream after all.

Hermione was just about to head down to lunch when she heard a sound behind her. Suddenly a bouquet of violet orchids was thrust in front of her face. Once she got over the momentary shock she lowered her nose to the flowers and drank in their scent deeply. She took the flowers and, blushing furiously, turned around to thank Harry. Only it wasn't Harry, it was Draco. She scuttled backward and fell over a chair, landing with an unceremonious thump on the floor of the empty classroom.

Draco smiled in such a way that Hermione began to taste bile rising in her throat. "Certainly not the reaction I was hoping for," Draco feigned being hurt.

Hermione glared at Draco. "Just what do you think you're doing!" she hissed.

"Well, since my attempts to win you over  _fairly_  were going less than stellar I decided I needed to be sneaky," he explained, suddenly becoming very interested in studying his fingernails, "Of course you like them."

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "Of course I do NOT! Get out of here now!" she said as she stood up.

"You might want to take that back," Draco warned, narrowing his eyes.

"I said OUT!" Hermione yelled as she threw the flowers in his face.

Draco was instantly furious. "Why you insolent little mudblood!" he raged. "You should get down on your hands and knees and thank the stars that a full blood wizard is even interested in you!" He stepped closer. "Now...thank me for the flowers," he said ominously.

"No!" Hermione yelled indignantly.

Draco was so angry his body shook.  _"I had actually lowered myself to the level of trying to woo this halfling and STILL she denies me?!"_  The word came out of his mouth before he had even thought it. "Crucio!"

 

* * *

 

George turned and looked behind him at the tap on his shoulder. He saw Harry, who had a look of concern on his face. "George. Have you seen Hermione?"

"Mope. Avwent ween er," George replied through a mouthful of steak.

Harry sighed heavily. "I'm sure she's around Bro," said Wendy as she walked up next to her brother. "You know Mione. She's probably studying and not bothering to watch the clock."

Harry smiled. "You might be right," he said with a bit of worry still apparent in his voice.

"C'mon. We'll go look for her," Wendy said thumbing toward the doors.

Harry nodded and the two Potters began their search. Wendy spotted Lavender walking up the hall. "Lavender, have you seen Hermione?"

Lavender thought for a moment. "I think I saw her heading for the old study room."

Wendy snickered. "See," she said to Harry, "told ya. Let's go tell her ta get her butt in gear." Harry looked at her blankly. She sighed in frustration. "I meant we need to tell her to get moving."

 

* * *

 

Hermione writhed on the cold stone floor of the room.  _"This can't be happening. Oh God please let this be a nightmare,"_  she begged in her mind. The pain was like a fire that burned through her very soul.  _"Harry...please help..."_

 

* * *

 

Harry and Wendy were walking toward the study room when they heard a crash. Harry got into the room first and what he saw made his blood boil. Hermione was twitching so badly that it looked like a seizure. "How DARE you!" he screamed at Draco. Hermione stopped spasming at once. Draco looked up at Harry with surprise. Harry raised his wand and yelled, "Accio wand!" Draco's wand flew into his hand. "Razorum!" Instantly, a cut appeared on Draco's left cheek. Harry yelled the spell again and again.

Draco was starting to bleed profusely. "Harry! HARRY! That's enough! You'll kill him!" Wendy yelled. When she saw this wasn't working she grabbed Harry's wand out of his hand. She then pointed her wand at Draco and said, "Aura copula." Ropes of light bound Draco all the way down to his ankles and he toppled over onto the floor. During all this, Harry had kept trying to get his wand back but quickly found out that Wendy was stronger than she looked. "C'mon Harry. He's not worth goin' ta Azkaban for," she said soothingly. Harry just stood there, rigid. Somehow Wendy knew he wouldn't do anything else so she went over to Hermione and helped her up. "Harry. Why don't you go get Professor Dumbledore."

Hermione suddenly found the strength to speak. "No. We're not telling anyone," she said firmly.

Everyone's eyes went wide. "Hermione, are you nuts?" Wendy asked.

"We can use this against him," she said as she stood up shakily. She turned to Draco with an angry glare. "You hear me, you trash? You ever do anything to anyone at Hogwarts again and I'll have Dumbledore expel you. Go to Madam Pomfrey and tell her you fell in the thorn grove. That'll explain the cuts."

Draco glared at everyone as Harry reversed the rope spell. Realizing they had him dead to rights, he knocked a chair over in frustration and began to leave when Harry grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall. There was a murderous look in Harry's eyes. "If you ever go near Hermione again, I'll break you in half," Harry said warningly with a tone of voice that sent chills down Draco's spine.

Once Harry had released him, Draco stormed off down the hall. The Potters kneeled down next Hermione. She collapsed into Harry's arms and sobbed silently.


	8. A Spoonful Of Suger

The only characters/things I own are Wendy Potter, the bubble sprites, the Soul Crystal, the flamingo seeds, the razorum spell, the twindoma spell, the Magical Artifacts Throughout History book, the Soul Beast, the argot, the bright spots, Ardian and Rachel Tigerlilly. Please do not use them in a story without asking me first.

 

* * *

Hermione turned to the next page in the giant book she was reading. Her expression was one of great concentration. Her hair was somewhat disheveled and there were the beginnings of little bags under her eyes. A cup of coffee next to her sent off little wisps of steam into the air. She turned another page and her hand went to her quill to jot down some notes. All the books in the enormous stack next to her were about learning wandless magic. She had kept insisting to everyone that if she had studied this topic sooner she would not have needed rescuing.

Harry watched Hermione sadly from the other side of the common room. She had been like this all night. He walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Mione?"

Hermione yawned and willed her eyes to have the power to meet Harry's. "Yes, Harry?"

"You should go to bed. You're so tired," Harry said softly as he gently stroked her cheek.

Hermione gave Harry a warm smile. "You go ahead. I'll be fine."

Harry sighed. "Don't be up too much later, okay?" he said as he touched her cheek.

Harry headed up the steps to the boys' dorm.  _"Why couldn't I have gotten there sooner?"_  Harry thought angrily as he ran a hand through his raven black hair. He suddenly shuddered at what might have happened had Wendy not stopped him.  _"I really wanted to kill him,"_  he thought. Even though he hated Draco with every fiber of his being, the thought of himself in such a blind rage terrified him. He never wanted to be like that again.

 

* * *

About a half hour later Hermione closed her book and trudged up the stairs to her dorm with her mini library in her arms. Wendy was waiting for her in the doorway. "Do you really need to do all that?"

Hermione simply looked at her. "I have to be prepared in case something like this happens again. I don't want to need protecting."

Wendy shook her head. "Mione, no one can go it alone all the time. That's why we have friends."

Hermione smiled. "I suppose you're right."

Wendy crawled into bed and rolled onto her side. "Night, Mione."

"Goodnight, Wendy," Hermione said as she sat down on her bed. She stayed on there for about a minute before she grabbed one of the books from her stack and sat in the window sill with it. The moonlight shown down on Hermione's pretty face as a single tear rolled down her cheek. Hermione Granger had never felt so weak in her entire life.

 

* * *

The next morning the sun was just rising as Harry sat on the ground next to the lake. He had his hand held out and a small flame was dancing in it, just above the skin's surface. "What the bloody hell!?" came Hermione's voice from behind him. Hermione stood aghast as she watched the flame. Harry was stunned at hearing those words come out of his sweet Hermione's mouth. She never swore. At least, not that he had heard. Her cheeks turn a bright shade of pink. "Oh, I'm sorry. That was rude of me."

Harry smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Compared to me and Ron, your mouth's as clean as an angel," he said with a bit too much admiration in his voice. Hermione blushed again and sat down next to him. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine. Studying and keeping myself busy is how I deal with things." Hermione glanced at the flame. "How long have you been able to do this?"

Harry stared at the flame. "About a week now."

"I'm a little hurt that you didn't say anything," Hermione said as she bit her lower lip.

"I'm sorry, Mione. I just thought that after everything that happened you didn't need more problems on your plate." Harry looked down.

"Harry," Hermione said as she took his hand in hers, "I'm never so involved my own problems that I wouldn't want to help you with yours." She smiled lovingly and looked at the flame again. "Besides, this isn't a problem. It's a wonderful thing. Wizards our age are never able to do wandless magic."

"It's just that I feel guilty having this power when you don't. Especially since you've been studying it so hard." Harry stared at the rippling surface of the lake.

Hermione laughed lightly. "Harry, you've always had an amazing talent with any kind of magic. Sure I know a lot of spells and I cast them very well, but the magic you have seems to come from inside you somewhere. It's always there when you need it most. I've always been a little jealous of that. But even so, you should never feel guilty over things you can't control."

Harry smiled. "Thanks, Mione. Will you help me learn about it?"

"Of course," Hermione replied with a smile.

Harry hugged Hermione tightly. "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you," he said as he broke the hug. His eyes were shining with excitement.

"What is it?" Hermione said with anticipation and a smile.

"Ron found a book with information on the Soul Crystal!" Harry nearly shouted.

Hermione's eyes opened wide and her smile fell from her features. For an instant time stopped as Harry's words rang in her ears. The wind that blew off the lake seemed colder somehow and her hair stung her face as the wind whipped it around.  _"What should I do? I can't let him go."_  she thought.

"Hermione? Mione, what's wrong?" Concern clouded Harry's handsome face.

Hermione broke out of her trance. "You can't go! It's too dangerous!" she blurted out.

"Mione, I'll be fine. I'm just going to find a little crystal. We've survived the forest before," Harry said as he held her shoulders.

Hermione's eyes became desperate. "You can't go! I won't let you!"

"Hermione, what do you know about this?" Harry said as his eyes narrowed with suspicion.

Hermione looked down and chewed her lower lip for a moment before answering. "Dumbledore told me all about it...weeks ago. He told me not to say anything to you. He told me to keep you away from it."

Harry was suddenly furious. "You knew this whole time?! You knew it could bring my parents back and you didn't tell me!?"

Hermione's head snapped upward, she stared him in the eyes and her hands balled up into fists. "You can't bring them back! Dumbledore told me it's not possible!"

"I'll find a way!" Harry yelled and stood up to leave.

Hermione grabbed his hand and yanked him around to face her. "Harry you can't! There's a monster guarding that thing!" she cried. Tears began to fall from her eyes.

Harry stopped for a second. "What?"

"Professor Dumbledore told me there's a monster guarding it. I think it's the one from your dream!"

Harry's body felt cold at the thought of that horrible beast, but his resolve came back quickly. "I don't care! You don't know what it's like. Your parents are ALIVE!" he yelled as he began to walk away.

Hermione recoiled a bit from this. She had to say something; something to make him stay. "Harry, I love you!" she yelled. She instantly wished she could take it back. She made a little gasp as her hands flew to her face and covered her mouth.

Now it was Harry's turn to freeze in time.  _"Did she just say what I think she said?"_  His robes fluttered in the wind as he just stood there, stunned, not knowing what to say—his argument about the Soul Crystal forgotten.

Hermione began to get nervous. "Harry?" Silence. "Harry say something."

Harry continued to look down. His hair covered any expression his face might have. "I can't. The only appropriate response...would be a lie."

Hermione's eyes squeezed tightly shut. Tears flowed freely from the corners.

Harry stood in front of Hermione. "Mione, I'm sorry. I do have feelings for you. I'm just not in love with you." He picked up her chin in his hand. "Please understand. I don't want to hurt you for anything in the world."

Hermione wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Let me know if your feelings change?" she said as she looked up at him with wishful eyes.

Harry gave Hermione a small kiss on the cheek. "You'll be the first to know. Would you mind just being my girlfriend for now?"

Hermione's mouth made a small smile. "I'd like that."

Harry put his arm around her and the two made their way back to the castle through the cool morning mist.


	9. A Beast of a Plan

Harry's mind was racing.  _"What should I do?"_  he thought as he half listened to Professor Flitwick's directions.  _"Is it worth risking my life over?"_

"No, no, Mr. Longbottom. You'll damage the violin that way," Professor Flitwick said as he raised his own wand. The class was learning how to make a violin play in midair. "It's Chellarum. Not Shellarum. The only thing you'll succeed in doing is making the violin do barrel rolls."

Suddenly Harry had a flash of inspiration. He had to talk to Wendy. It would have to wait till the end of class though. Harry's thoughts refocused on the class when he heard laughter. The violin was trying to bash Neville on the head. Even through his tense mood, a little chuckle escaped his lips.

 

* * *

"Have you seen Wendy?" Harry asked Hagrid. The half-giant turned his large head toward him.

"Said she was headin' off ter the common room," he said as he heaved the bale of hay he held in his massive hands over a fence into the pegasus' pen.

"Thanks, Hagrid," Harry replied as he turned to walk away.

Hagrid looked thoughtful. "Summat on yer mind, Harry?"

"No no. Just wanted to ask her something," Harry said as he waved his hand dismissively.

Hagrid's eyes narrowed. Harry had told him about the dreams he had been having lately. "Harry...if yer thinkin' of goin' after that crystal..." he warned, leaning against the fence.

Harry tried his best to look indifferent. "Naw. I reckon it's not worth the effort."

Hagrid tapped his foot. "Awright then. Why don' you go find yer sister," he said with a warm smile. Harry said his thanks and left. Hagrid stared after him. "Hmmmm. Better tell Dumbledore. Harry knows summat," he shooed away the pegasus who had been happily munching his hair. "Better make sure there's an anti-invisibility charm roun' the forest too." He grumbled. He felt a gentle tugging on his hair again. "Off with ye'!" he scolded to the pegasus. She managed to whack Hagrid with her tail as she turned to go to the water trough.

 

* * *

Harry smiled when he saw Wendy. Actually, he nearly laughed out loud. She was sprawled out on the couch nearest the fireplace and she looked very much like road kill.

Hermione looked up and smiled when she saw Harry. "Hi, Harry," she said as she gave him a hug.

"Hi," Harry replied warmly as he returned the hug. "Excuse me a minute," he said as he walked over to his sister. "Wen." He shook her gently.

Wendy opened a squinted eye. "This had better be good, Harry." She sat up a bit. "I was dreamin' about Will Smith."

"I need to talk to you alone," Harry said. Hermione looked at Harry quizzically. He didn't notice.

Wendy cocked her head to one side. "Okay. Okay." She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Do you mind, Mione?"

"Not at all." Hermione smiled. "I'll just go back to reading my book."

"Thanks," Harry said as he gave Hermione a peck on the cheek. "We'll be right back." He grabbed Wendy's hand and led her out the portrait door.

Hermione sighed. "He's up to something. I'll have to speak to him when he gets back."

 

* * *

"What?!" Wendy said in disbelief. She put her hand on her brother's forehead. "Yup, just as I thought—boiling over."

Harry scowled and shoved her hand away. "I am not sick. We need to find that crystal."

Wendy sat down on the floor of the dining hall, which was empty at the moment. "What we need is to stay in one piece. I was all hyped up ta' find that thing too till I found out that monster in our nightmares is guarding it." She interlaced her fingers behind her neck and leaned her head back. "Besides. What happened to  **'You don't know enough magic to go into the forest.'**  ?" she said in a horribly failed attempt at her brother's voice.

Harry slid down the wall to sit next to Wendy and sighed. "I think your beastmaster power could keep that thing under control."

"Ahhhh, I see," Wendy said as she put her arms around her knees. "Look—Harry. You're my brother. I love you. But...I don't wanna throw away this great new life I have here for something we've already been told can't bring back Mom and Dad."

Harry closed his eyes. "I think it can. There could be things people have never tried." He gave Wendy a look of desperation. "Wen, they're trapped in that thing. I can't stand the thought of it. Even if we can only free their souls I have to try."

Wendy let out a long puff of air. "Alright...If it means that much to you."

Harry gave a half smile. "Thank you."

"Are we getting Ron into this?" Wendy said as she scratched her neck.

"Yeah, but not Mione," Harry said seriously.

"You think she'll try to stop you?" Wendy questioned as she stood up.

Harry stood as well. A small twinge of anger crossed his face. "I  _know_  she will."

 

* * *

Hagrid's sixth year Care Of Magical Creatures Class waited patiently outside the door of the newly constructed pool. Draco was taking extra care to stay on the opposite side of the crowd from Hermione. If it wasn't for Dumbledore his father could've gotten him out of this mess but that muggle lover was one of the few people his father couldn't bribe.

He sighed angrily as he stared at her. Even though she had rejected him—even though she now despised him worse than ever—her beauty still captivated him. He hated that. It repulsed him to his very core. He even felt bad about hurting her. That made him even angrier. He really hadn't meant to cause her pain. It just kind of happened.  _"What the bloody hell is she doing to me? I am Draco Malfoy! I am the heir to the oldest and greatest Wizarding family in the world"_  "I AM NOT ATTRACTED TO A MUDBLOOD!" he screamed. Everyone stared at him. He suddenly realized he had said the last part of his rant out loud and his face turned a nice shade of crimson.

Hagrid put a giant hand on Draco's shoulder. "Get yerself to Professor Dumbledore's office—NOW!" Hagrid said with barely contained rage. Draco gritted his teeth and stormed off. Hagrid turned to Hermione. "You alrigh'?"

Hermione smiled. "I don't even pay attention to that git anymore," she said as she shook her head.

Hagrid smiled proudly. "Good girl." He walked over to the door and grinned. "You kids are gonna love this."

Hagrid opened the door and everyone stepped inside. Their eyes were wide as they took in the absolute massiveness of the pool. It was about the size of four Olympic pools. Its shallow end was only two feet deep but the other end was twenty feet. One corner of the deep end had what looked like a small holding pen. On the three walls not connected to the castle were giant windows. Each one was rounded at the top and was bordered by ocean blue curtains. The ceiling was enchanted like the dining hall except there were seagulls flying in the sky. The floor was made of tile that looked like wood. Paintings of mermaids were on the spaces between the windows. They were all waving and saying welcome.

Hagrid instructed them to stand near the midpoint of the pool. "Awright now. You kids keep it down. Argots are righ' skittish." He opened the gate and out came one of the most beautiful creatures the class had ever laid eyes on. The argot was roughly six feet long from head to tail fin. Her skin was like a dolphin's, only it was pale blue. She had a delicate head with a small yellow beak, large green eyes, a deep blue fin on the back and a tiny gold horn on her forehead. Hagrid told the class that the horn was porous and she used it to breathe when she was above water. Each of her cheeks had a small, blue fin-shaped piece of skin that Hagrid explained protected her gills. On each side of her body, not too far below her head, were large, deep blue, fan-shaped fins that slowly waved in the water. The fins were nearly transparent. She had a matching dorsal fin on her back. Her tail was straight and had one long blue fin that ran the entire length on the front and back.

The argot cautiously left the safety of the pen and glided toward the group. Her tail propelled her forward as she swished it back and forth. Hagrid told the class that the large side fins were for balance and allowed her to stay upright as she swam. He knelt down and held out a handful of purple leaves. The argot let out a happy sound that reminded the group of a Japanese flute. She munched happily on the leaves then let out another chirp that sounded almost like gratitude. "Hear that? That's the spirit call. Argots will be friends with almost anyone who gives them clam leaves as long as they've got a good heart." He began to hand leaves out to the class. "Now ah'm goin' ter have you feed 'er, one at a time. Hermione, you go first."

Hermione knelt down and held out her hand of leaves. The argot ate the leaves and made the spirit call for her. She smiled.

One by one the rest of the class tried feeding the argot. The argot would not make the spirit call for most of the Slytherins. When Goyle reached down the argot made an earsplitting shriek and used her muscular tail to drench him. The class exploded in laughter.

"Sorry, I'm late Hagrid!" Echoed a voice from the door. "My potions class ran over." Wendy was running toward the class. She had asked Hagrid if she could be there to see the argots. Her foot hit a puddle and she fell. Her backside hit the floor hard. "Owie," she said as she rubbed the spot that was in pain. Hagrid offered Wendy a hand. Looking extremely embarrassed she took it and stood. The Slytherins were doubled over with laughter.

Hagrid shot the Slytherins a look and they stopped laughing. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. But I'm gonna be feelin' that for a week. Hagrid?" Wendy said when she realized she didn't have Hagrid's undivided attention.

Hagrid wasn't listening. He was staring at the argot whose horn was glowing with a brilliant light. Smiling, Wendy knelt down to the argot and began to stroke her face. "Well, I'll be," Hagrid exclaimed. "I've heard of the aquinesk, but I never thought I'd see it."

Harry spoke up. "The aquinesk?"

"They only do it fer beastmasters," Hagrid replied, "That's why ye don' see it too often."

"Amazing," Hermione exclaimed.

"The best part hasn't happened yet," Hagrid said, winking. The argot backed up from Wendy a couple of feet, keeping her eyes fixed on the beastmaster. The horn glowed brighter and the argot began to play an enchanting song with the same flute-like tone she had used for the spirit call. Each note filled the students with an indescribable warmth.

Harry looked at Hermione and clasped her hand. She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder. They simply relaxed and enjoyed the aquinesk together. Harry loved the feel of her skin on his. It made him feel peaceful. He tilted his head to rest on hers and breathed in deeply. He loved her scent. She smelled intensely of the raspberry shampoo she used. He squeezed her hand. Somehow whenever she was with him now, he felt like he had come home.

The argot's song ended, but for Harry and Hermione the warmth just stayed and stayed...and stayed...


	10. Her Prince's Protector

Hermione got up from her bed carefully so she wouldn't wake anyone up. She'd been checking the last few nights to make sure Harry hadn't snuck out because she was worried he would do something stupid. She put on her robe and headed for the boy's dormitory. After a quick glance around the room to see if there were any prying eyes she tiptoed over to Harry's bed and saw that he was not there. Her heart caught in her throat. He had gone after the crystal. She began to panic when a whispered voice came from behind her. "I thought so."

Hermione turned around to see Harry leaning against the wall to her right. He was barely visible in the shadows. "Harry?" She sighed in relief. "Oh thank God. I thought you had..."

Harry cut her off. "You thought I went to the forest," he said with some bitterness in his voice. "You've been checking on me every night since the lake, haven't you?" He took a step out of the shadows.

Hermione bit her lower lip. "I...I was worried about you."

"Hermione, I care about you a lot, but back off. I'm going to do this whether you like it or not. I'm not asking you to come with me."

"Harry, please. Be reasonable. This isn't worth your life!"

Harry set his jaw. "It's late. I'm going to bed," he said as he sat down on the edge of his mattress.

Hermione sat down next to Harry. "Please," she said softly through her forming tears, "I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you." Her tears began to fall freely.

Harry softened a bit. "Mione." He took her hand. "I will come back to you. I promise," he said before kissing her lovingly.

Hermione sighed and fell into the kiss. She knew he would go no matter what she said. She felt her lips part as his tongue met hers. Such a heavenly, heartfelt kiss. How could he say he didn't love her? Suddenly, they heard a sneeze from under Harry's bed. There was a slight yelp as Harry yanked someone out by his arm. Ron was bright red as he looked at the disapproving scowls on his friend's faces. "Ummmmm. Hi?" he said nervously and stood up.

Hermione smacked Ron upside the head. "Pervert!" she scolded.

Ron waved his hands furiously back and forth. "No. It wasn't like that—honest. I was looking for my book Harry borrowed and then you guys got into such a serious conversation... I just thought it was best to stay out of sight." His friends sighed and he took that as his cue to go back to his bed.

Harry and Hermione said goodnight and she headed back to her dorm. Harry sat down on his bed and flopped backward on the mattress. He had been planning to leave for the forest just moments before she had come in.  _"Damn."_  he cursed. Oh well. It was later than he had planned on leaving. If he wanted to make sure he would be back by morning then he would have to wait till tomorrow night. The only problem was that the day after tomorrow was the dance.

 

* * *

The day dragged on very slowly. Harry felt like he had no patience for anything. "Harry, could you pass me the posa berries?" Ron whispered.

Harry's head snapped sideways. "Do I look like your servant?!" he yelled, breaking the previously long silence.

Everyone nearly jumped out of their skin. Professor Snape had been in the middle of watching over Neville as he put the berries into his potion. Only three berries were supposed to go in but Neville dropped the entire handful and the resulting geyser pummeled Snape directly in the face. Snape wiped the goo from his eyes and glared menacingly at Harry. He stomped over to him. He did  _not_  like being made to look like a fool. "POTTER!" he growled. Harry sunk into his chair. "You have just lost ten points for Gryffindor!"

The Gryffindors in the class glared at their housemate. Embarrassed, Harry sunk even lower in his seat while Snape trudged over to the sink to wash his face.

 

* * *

"I said, how about we go to Hogsmeade tomorrow," Hermione repeated smiling.

Harry blinked back his thoughts and shrugged. "Sure. Snape's been following me around all day. I think he's trying to find something he can use as an excuse to take more points." He rolled his eyes.

Ron laughed, causing Harry to glare at him. "Stop laughing. It's your fault," he said as he pointed at Ron.

"It's not my fault you've got a bug up your arse today," Ron replied hotly as he crossed his arms.

"C'mon you guys. Be nice," Wendy pleaded.

"Mione! Come here for a minute!" Lavender yelled across the field.

"Coming!" Hermione yelled back. She went over to Harry and gave him a quick kiss. This resulted in a 'Whoo' from Wendy and Ron. Hermione gave them a look. "I'll be right back."

As soon as Hermione was out of earshot Wendy spoke. "So when are we going?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm not sure. I'm having a hard time dodging Mione. Last night she had an alarm spell on the doorway."

"We could put a sleepin' spell on her," Wendy suggested as she tilted her head a little and pretended to sleep.

Harry hated the idea of doing it but..."It might be the only way." He sighed. "I just hope she'll forgive me."

"I think she will," Ron offered.

"Okay. Tonight then," Harry said decidedly.

 

* * *

Sirius Black laid on his back and stared at the sky. He was waiting for Hermione at the park in Hogsmeade. She had said it was urgent that she speak with him. A shadow overlaid his face. "Hello, Hermione."

Hermione set her purse down and joined Sirius on the grass. "I'm glad you came."

"So what is it?" Sirius said as he sat up.

"I need to know more about the Soul Crystal and the beast guarding it." Hermione twisted a strand of hair as she spoke.

"Why?" Sirius said with concern.

"I need more facts so I can convince Harry not to try and get it," Hermione said seriously.

Sirius sat quietly for a moment and then sighed. "What do you want to know?"

"Just how is the Soul Beast connected to the crystal? And why did it wake up now?"

"The Soul Beast sleeps inside the crystal until a special kind of witch or wizard comes close to the crystal's location. Then it wakes up and guards the crystal until the one that woke it up comes to claim it."

"What do you mean by 'special witch or wizard'?"

"Someone with a natural ability that others don't have. I'm very surprised it didn't wake up when Harry came to Hogwarts. Considering he's a parseltongue"

"But Harry's not evil!" Hermione squeaked.

"Doesn't have to be. Once it called the person to it and they touched the crystal it would  _make_  them evil."

Hermione cringed and then looked thoughtful. "Why  _didn't_ Harry wake it up?"

Sirius turned his head to face the opposite direction from Hermione. "It might have something to do with what he is," he said quietly to no one. Hermione was instantly confused. "What do you mean? 'What he is.'" Sirius suddenly turned back to Hermione. His face was severe. "Forget I said that."

Hermione was a little annoyed. "But..."

"I said forget it. It's not my place to tell you." Seeing that she had slumped her shoulders in defeat he continued. "I think the Soul Beast woke up because of Wendy."

"Wendy? Oh right, her beastmaster ability."

"Listen to me very carefully. We have to stop Harry at all costs. I'm assuming he's convinced Wendy to go with him. If Wendy touches that crystal she'll become like Voldemort."

 

* * *

Sirius and Hermione flew back to the castle on his motorcycle. She had her eyes shut the entire time, cursing herself for not convincing him to walk. Suddenly she had an idea and asked Sirius to land his bike. "What is it?" Sirius asked when they had touched down.

"I want to do this myself," she said as she removed her helmet.

"What?" Sirius replied, confused.

"I just...I think if Harry knows I went to you about this he'll be angry and even more determined," she said as she bit her lip.

Sirius sighed. "If you're sure..." Hermione nodded. "Alright. I'll just take you close enough to the castle so you won't have so much of a walk."

Hermione replaced her helmet, put her arms around Sirius's waist and squinted her eyes shut as they took off into the afternoon sky.

 

* * *

Somewhere between waving goodbye to Sirius and the Gryffindor common room Hermione's plan took a completely different form. She pushed open the portrait door, grumbling about it the whole time. The fat lady had been refusing to open the door herself lately. She said doing it themselves would help the students build character. Ron had said he thought she was just being lazy and Hermione completely agreed.

Harry had just finished pouring a sleeping potion in Hermione's tea when she came in the room. He tossed it onto the couch where Ron palmed it. Thankfully she hadn't seen them do this. "Hi Mione," Harry smiled. She just stood there. "Mione?"

Hermione picked up her tea and nodded her head like she had decided something. "Harry. I'm going with you."

"Like Hell you are," Ron said. He stood in between Hermione and Harry. "Don't let her. She just wants to make sure we're caught."

"No, I don't. I want you to be safe is all." She poked Ron in the chest. "I also have some important information," she said as she pushed Ron out of the way.

"Okay," Harry decided.

Ron went bug-eyed. "What?!"

"I trust her."

Ron sighed. "Alright," he said as he folded his arms.

Hermione sighed and went to take a sip of her tea.

"NO!" Harry yelled and grabbed the tea out of her hand. He muttered a few swears under his breath as some of the hot tea splashed out onto his hand.

"Harry!? What on Earth...?" Hermione said. She was clearly annoyed but her expression softened a bit when she saw Harry cradling his hand. There were burns on it.

Harry quickly thought of an answer. "I saw Peeves near it earlier," he said. "I thought he might've done something to it." Hermione smiled and used her wand to heal the burns. Harry looked confused. "When did you learn how to do that?"

"I've asked Madam Pomfrey to teach me healing magic." Hermione looked a little embarrassed. "I'm thinking about becoming a nurse."

"That's great Mione!" Harry exclaimed. Hermione's blush deepened.

Ron eh-hemed. "Can we stay on topic here?"

"Sorry Ron," Hermione replied. She sighed. "Wendy shouldn't go to the forest."

"Now just hold on a minute." Wendy hopped off the back of the couch where she had been sitting. "First you don't even want to go and now you're tryin' ta tell me I  _can't_?" she growled. Wendy had a pretty short fuse when she felt she was being bossed around by people she didn't feel had a right to do so.

"If you touch that crystal you'll become evil," Hermione shot back.

"What?" Wendy scoffed.

Hermione proceeded to tell them what she had learned. Although she told them she had found the information in a book she'd had her mother send her from home.

"So I just won't touch the damned thing," Wendy offered.

"I don't think it's that simple," Hermione replied. "From what I understand you'll be drawn to it."

"We'll protect her," Harry said.

Hermione stared at Harry with disbelief. "Harry, please use some sense for once," she said with desperation.

"If Wendy doesn't come I can't do this! I need her to control the Soul Beast." Small lines of irritation were being drawn across his face.

"She can't control the beast if she's drawn to the crystal like a bloody magnet!" Hermione said in a raised voice.

Harry sighed angrily. "Is there some kind of protection spell we can put on Wendy?"

Hermione backed down a little. "Alright I'll look," she said as she sighed. "But if I can't find something she needs to stay here."

Wendy spoke up. "Okay." Everyone looked at her for an explanation to her sudden change of mind. "Harry's got enough evil relatives," she remarked with a half laugh and a shrug.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Hermione headed off to the library and came back with a huge stack of books. The gang sat down around the fireplace, hoping to pull yet another rabbit out of their hats.


	11. Magic By Candlelight

Hermione slammed the ancient book she was reading closed in triumph, shattering the tense air of the room. Everyone nearly jumped out of their skin.

"Geez, Hermione!" Ron complained, breathing heavily. "I reckon you took nearly three years off my life!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Do you want the solution I found or not?"

Ron sighed with exasperation. "What?"

Hermione turned to Wendy. "Hand me your cross," she said as she held out her hand.

Wendy took off the cross necklace she was wearing and tentatively handed it over. It was silver and ornately designed, strung on a black cord with a barrel clasp. "Here," she said as Hermione took it. "Please be careful. It's very old."

Hermione gently tapped the cross with the end of her wand. "Deednim reecal." The cross glowed yellow for a moment and then returned to normal. She handed it back to Wendy. "As long as you wear that you'll be able to resist the crystals call. You'll still feel the pull of it though."

Wendy nodded in understanding. "Okay." She smiled and put her necklace back on.

"Now we just have to figure out how to get past the forest guards," Harry said, drumming his fingers on the coffee table.

"We'll just wear the invisibility cloak," Ron piped up.

Hermione shook her head. "I'm sure Professor Dumbledore has had an anti-invisibility charm cast on the forest edge."

Everyone sighed. They all just sat there, staring at nothing. Just when it seemed like the silence would never end Harry slapped the coffee table, snapping everyone out of their trance. "The Marauder's map!"

 

* * *

"Yes! We could see if there's a passage leading to the forest," Ron replied excitedly.

"There!" Harry stabbed at a spot on the map. "It ends not far behind Hagrid's hut."

Hermione lurched. ::Urk:: "...Look where it begins," she said tensely. Everyone moaned at the spot on the map where her finger rested...Snape's Office.

"Bloody Hell. It would be Snape. There's a ruddy conspiracy against us I'm telling you," Ron complained.

"How are we going to manage this one? Snape's been loads more cautious since I took those ingredients," Hermione lamented. "His office door has an enchanted lock on it that only works with a special key."

Another moment of silence ensued.

"If we wait for Snape to go in there..." Harry started to say.

"Oh right. 'Excuse me, Professor. What was last night's homework? Oh, and while we're in here can we check your office for the entrance to a secret tunnel that will lead us into the forest?' Get real, Harry," Ron said in a withering tone of voice.

Harry shot Ron a dirty look. "Let me finish. If we could get him to leave the office in a hurry he might forget to lock the door."

"Brilliant Harry!" Hermione exclaimed admiringly.

"But how do we get him to leave?" Ron asked.

Suddenly Wendy's eyes went wide. "I've got the perfect idea." Everyone just stared at her. "Let's go talk to the twins," she said with a grin.

 

* * *

George handed a small bag to Harry. "Now be careful with those," he warned, looking pointedly at Wendy.

Wendy suddenly looked very embarrassed. "I said I was sorry," she said as she shuffled her foot.

"S'okay," George said, smiling. Wendy smiled. Then they stopped moving.

Harry looked from George to Wendy and back again. Then he looked at Fred who seemed to be extremely annoyed. He leaned over to Fred and whispered. "What's going on here?"

"Geez, Ron was right. You are clueless," Fred rolled his eyes as he whispered back.

Harry looked at the two again. He blinked rapidly in realization. "They...like each other?"

Fred patted Harry on the shoulder. "Very good, Harry. You get a shiny gold star."

Harry glared at him, then ahemed loudly. "Uh, guys." No response. "Guys? GUYS!" Harry yelled, losing his patience.

Wendy's face went red and she turned to her brother. "Um...yeah...yes...sorry."

"Now these are our new and improved seeds. They wait about five seconds before sprouting," George commented, eager to change the subject.

"Okay. Now we just have to make sure that Snape thinks Peeves did this," Hermione said.

"Now it wouldn't be nice for you to get ol' Peeves in trouble," came Peeves' voice from behind Hermione.

Hermione whirled around to see only Ron standing behind her. Ron grimaced a bit as Hermione's hair hit him in the face from her quick turn. "Ron, you scared me," she complained, poking a finger in his chest.

"Convincing isn't it?" Ron said, rather pleased with himself.

"I'd say that problem is solved," Harry said smiling. "We'll do it after dinner."

 

* * *

It was about an hour before dinner and Harry James Potter was nervous.  _"I really hope she likes this,"_  he thought. He was sitting under one of the light willows behind the castle. Light willows looked like every other willow except that the leaves at the ends of the branches glowed with bioluminescence. There were six of these trees all together in a very small grove.

Harry had set up a very nice candlelight picnic dinner, with special permission from Dumbledore of course. He fiddled with the latch on a small black case that sat on the ground next to him. A light dancing in the distance caught his attention. As it got closer he could tell it was a lantern. "Mione," he said as he stood and waved, "Over here!"

The light stopped moving for a moment, then headed straight in Harry's direction. Finally, Hermione came out of the darkness and Harry's breath caught in his throat. She was wearing a simple, navy blue turtleneck sweater and jeans but they accentuated her curves in all the right places. She looked at him with concern. "Harry? Are you okay?"

Harry blinked and tried very hard not to think about how her jeans hugged her hips. "Ehm yeah. Sorry, I must have zoned out," he said.

"Okay. So what's the surprise?" Hermione said expectantly.

Harry grinned and asked Hermione to sit down. He then walked over to a black cloth and removed it. Hermione could barely make out what looked like dinner. He winked at her then held up his index finger. After a moment of staring at it a very small flame began emanating from the tip. Hermione gasped. "Harry, that's wonderful! How did you learn to control it so well?"

Harry used his finger to light five candles sitting in a very ornate holder. Then, just to be silly, he blew out the flame at the tip of his finger like it was a smoking gun. "Actually, I wish I knew," he said as he took a seat across from Hermione. "I've just been practicing—Nothing else."

Hermione looked very proud. "Amazing," she commented.

Harry stared at the way the candlelight moved over Hermione's face. It gave her almost an ethereal quality. "No. You're amazing," he said with a wistful smile.

Hermione blushed. "Thank you," she said as she played with a strand of hair.

Harry was suddenly serious. "No. I mean it. You've got so many great qualities. I don't think I could name them all," he said as he looked at her with awe.

Hermione blushed again. "I think you're inheriting some of your Dad's smoothness as you get older, Harry." Suddenly, her smile disappeared and she looked down.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked as he placed a hand on hers.

"It's just...I'm confused. I don't know how you can think all these wonderful things about me and not love me," she said with a slight twinge of sadness in her voice.

Harry winced. "Oh, Mione." He sighed. "Listen. It's just I don't know what being in love feels like and I want to make sure what I'm feeling is love before I actually say it. Can't you just be patient?" he said in a pleading voice.

Hermione bit her lower lip. "I guess." Suddenly she perked up and wiped away the tears that had started to form. "You know what? Let's not talk about this now. I want to enjoy the dinner you made," she said with a smile.

Harry slumped his shoulders. "Umm, actually I didn't make it. Dobby did," he said with regret.

Hermione giggled and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I don't mind. It's the thought that counts."

Dinner ended about an hour after that. They talked and laughed. Finally, Harry brought the small black case onto his lap. Hermione looked at it curiously. "What's that?" she asked.

"A surprise you never would've expected from me in a million years," Harry said half laughing. He opened the case and Hermione's eyes went wide as saucers.

"An ocarina! But...I can't play," she said gloomily.

Harry shook his head. "It's not for you. It's mine. I...um...well just...listen," he said as he picked the instrument up.

Harry brought the mouthpiece to his lips and the world around Hermione simply melted away. It was like no tune she had ever heard.  _"Where in the name of Merlin did he learn to play like that?"_  she thought. She closed her eyes and let the music wash over her. She felt like crying from the beauty of it. The wind gently caressed them both and she felt like it just completed the mood. And then all too soon it was over. She had to shake her head a little to bring herself back to reality. "That was," she swallowed, trying to find the words, "the most beautiful thing I've ever heard." She breathed heavily. Her heart was beating so fast she felt it might burst through her chest. "Where...who taught you to play?"

Harry smiled broadly, having achieved his desired effect. "Sirius...over the summer."

Hermione's eyes went wide again. "You learned how to do that in ONE summer?" she said, the shock in her voice abundantly evident.

Harry half-smiled and shrugged, suddenly a little embarrassed. "Sirius said I've got natural talent."

"Obviously," Hermione replied with a smile. "What song was that?"

"Not a song really. I was just playing whatever came to me." Harry smiled.

"You're kidding!" Hermione said as she went slack-jawed.

"Nope." Harry moved over to sit next to her.

Hermione turned to face him. The wind was rustling through his hair, there was candlelight on his face, and his eyes...his eyes... Before she knew what was happening she was kissing him. He brushed light little kisses across her lips. This sent sparks of electricity down her spine. A gust of wind blew out the candles. She needed more. She put her hand on the back of his neck and pulled him in closer. She kissed him hungrily. There was nothing but Harry.

Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist. He drank in her scent deeply.  _"God, she smells good."_  he thought. He lowered his lips to her neck. She made small moaning sounds. Completely of its own free will, his hand moved to brush her left breast.  _"She's so soft."_  He got a little bolder and began to caress it gently.

Hermione felt Harry's hand cup her breast. She sucked in a breath as his hand began moving. She felt like she was on fire.  _"I never knew it felt this good."_  she swooned.

" _She...she...feels...so...AHH! OH HELL!"_  He quickly broke away from her. "Hermione," he said in between heavy breaths. "We...we need to stop...before I can't," he said as he stared into her eyes.

Hermione's breathing began to slow a bit.  _"What did I almost do?"_  "You're right. Let's um...let's get back inside," she said, gasping for air.

The young couple packed up the stuff from dinner, careful not to touch each other for fear of losing control again. Trying desperately to talk about normal things, they headed back up to the castle.

 

* * *

Harry and Hermione walked down the hall with their friends in silence. No one but they knew why. Harry was staring at the map, watching Snape's dot. Finally, Ron, looking at Wendy, spoke up. "When exactly were you planning on telling us?"

Wendy looked at him with apprehension. "Telling you what?"

"That you like George," Ron stated flatly.

Wendy suddenly looked very uncomfortable. She took a moment to answer. "I don't know. I just...there's not much to tell," she looked at her feet. "It's just kinda flirting right now."

Ron chuckled. "Why do you look like I'm going to bite your head off?"

"I dunno. I guess I expected you to be all weird about it cause he's your brother..." she began.

"Snape's in! Let's go." Harry interrupted. He grabbed Hermione's hand and they walked quickly towards Snape's office.


	12. The Road To Danger

 

As soon as the door to Snape's office clicked shut the quartet set about their task. "Okay. Everyone under the cloak," Harry said as held it up.

Ron knocked on the door. "Yes?" came Snape's muffled reply. A moment passed and Ron knocked again. "Come IN!" Snape said loudly, clearly annoyed.

Ron cleared his throat. "Knocky knocky, who's there?" he said in a perfect imitation of Peeve's irritating voice. He topped it off with a maniacal laugh. It was at that moment that Ron tossed a handful of the flamingo seeds under the door. Five seconds later they heard a sound like popcorn popping.

"PEEVES!" Snape roared. The door flew open. He stood in the doorway, obviously wondering where Peeves had gotten to, holding a blue, plastic flamingo by the base of the neck. He was red with anger as he stormed down the hall, disappearing into the blackness. "Argus!" he fumed, opening the door to Filch's office. "I demand you do something about this!" The door slammed behind him.

Everyone hurried in through Snape's open door. "Let's go. We don't have much time," Harry commanded, pushing aside the flamingos that were in their way. They stopped in front of a section of wall where the bricks came out in a sort of half-pillar. Harry's heart was beating like a jackrabbit. His hands flew over the stones, looking for anything unusual.

"Get the Bloody Barron if you have to! I want this rumpus stopped now!" Snape's voice suddenly boomed out in the hallway.

"He's coming back! Hurry, Harry!" Wendy said in a loud whisper.

Harry's breathing quickened. He was nearly at full panic when he noticed something on one of the blocks. In very tiny letters were carved the initials 'J.P'. That had to be it. He pushed on the stone and the entire round section of wall rolled back into itself. The group piled through the entrance. It slid back into place just as Snape came around the edge of the door.

Snape looked around his office with a confused glare. "I could have sworn I heard a noise in here."

Everyone moved in silence for a few moments to make sure they were out of earshot of Snape. Hermione saw a torch on the wall in the dim light. "Incendio," the light from the torch revealed more along the walls of the long tunnel. She repeated her spell and the rest of the torches danced merrily with flame. The tunnel seemed older than the rest of the castle. "I wonder if this is one of the Druid escape tunnels," she mused.

"Huh?" Wendy questioned, tripping a little over a small rock.

"The druids were constantly persecuted. So they often built tunnels like this to escape to forests where they could hide." Hermione looked around in amazement. "This tunnel must even be older than Hogwarts."

"Wow," Ron remarked.

They walked for about fifteen minutes before a cold breeze rattled its way down the passage. "We must be close," Harry said. They came to a dead end. He looked up and saw a trap door. "Wendy. Give me a boost?"

"Sure," Wendy replied. She went down on one knee. "Get on my shoulders."

Harry climbed onto his sister's back and grabbed her hands. She stood up and, using her hands for balance, so did he. He banged on the door. It didn't move. He got irritated and banged harder. After a moment it fell inward. The resulting rain of dirt caused Wendy and Harry to lose their balance and fall to the floor in an undignified heap, knocking down Hermione in the process.

Everyone was coughing from the cloud of dust that rose off the floor. Harry pushed himself up from the floor with his arms. He saw Hermione lying on her back, her eyes were closed. He saw that she also had a cut on her forehead and felt a sudden sense of panic. "Mione?" he said.

Hermione groaned as her right hand rose to her cut. She opened her eyes. "Are you okay?" Harry asked her.

Hermione was taken aback by the look of concern on Harry's face. "Are you worried about this?" she said as she pointed to her forehead. Harry nodded. She waved her hand dismissively. "Head wounds always look worse than they really are. I'll be fine."

"Okay," Harry said, seemingly satisfied with her answer.

"Ow," said Wendy as she pushed herself up off the ground. "Oh damn. Let's not do that again." She smiled, and then looked up. "Well. It's open anyway." She blinked as some more stray dirt fell from the opening.

"Now how do we get up there?" Ron asked, dusting some of the dirt off his robes.

Hermione picked up a piece of tree root. "Twindoma," she said. The root twisted, lengthened, and finally became a rope.

Harry grinned at Hermione. "You're just incredible you know that?" he said in awe.

Hermione smiled. "Now we just have to get it up there," she said.

"Leave that to me," Wendy said. Hermione handed the rope to her. Wendy tied one end into a loop and swung it lasso style at a very thick root sticking out near the edge of the hole. The rope landed perfectly and she pulled on it to make sure it was secure. She caught everyone's surprised stare and smiled. "I used to help my cousin rope wild horses."

Hermione smiled and began to climb. The rest of the group followed.

 

* * *

Harry pulled Wendy up from the hole. She stood up and scratched her arm absentmindedly. "So now what?"

"See if you can sense where the crystal is," Harry said.

Wendy had just shut her eyes when she heard a voice call out from behind Harry. "Harry Potter? What brings you out here tonight?"

Wendy thought she was going to pass out with glee. A centaur. A real, live, centaur.  _"I wonder how many other legends are true?"_

The young centaur stepped a bit closer to the group. Harry spoke up. "I'm sorry. Have we met?"

"My name is Ardian. My father has told me much about you. You shouldn't be in the forest now. A terrible beast has awakened and..." He just stopped talking. All he did was stare at Wendy.

"Ardian?" Harry prodded. "Ardian are you alright?"

Suddenly Ardian dropped to three knees. "Beastmaster. You grace this humble forest with your presence," he said, his head bowed.

Ron started sniggering. Harry just looked stunned. Hermione grimaced like she knew this would happen. Wendy simply looked confused. "Huh?"

Ardian looked up. "You mean you do not know?" he said disbelievingly.

"Know what?" Wendy replied impatiently.

"Beastmasters are highly respected by we centaurs."

Wendy put her face in her hand. "Oh dear God." She walked over to Ardian. "Please get up. This is embarrassing," she said, offering him her hand.

"My apologies, Beastmaster. I did not mean to offend," he said as he tentatively took Wendy's hand and stood up.

"You didn't offend me, but honestly, Harry's more worship-worthy than I'll ever be," she said, waving a hand at her brother.

Ardian bowed his head slightly. "You are too modest, Beastmaster."

Wendy rolled her eyes. "And please stop calling me that. My name is Wendy," she complained, kicking at the dirt.

Ardian merely nodded. "May I join you on your quest?"

"Sorry," Harry interrupted. "But we're doing this ourselves," he said sternly.

"But Harry, he could know where the crystal is," Hermione said.

"I don't want anyone else involved," Harry replied.

"Very well then. But please be careful," Ardian said, bowing his head again.

The group walked away from the centaur, who was waving.

"I wonder where we should start," Harry asked.

A breeze twisted Wendy's hair around her face. She put her hand over her heart. The crystal was calling to her. "Follow me." With that, she began to walk.

Hermione moved over next to Wendy. "Sorry, I should have warned you," she said, her voice showing a twinge of regret.

Wendy looked at Hermione out of the corner of her eye. She was trying to concentrate on the crystal. "You knew Ardian would do that?"

Hermione pushed a branch up and out of her way. "I completely forgot about it till he said something."

Wendy shrugged. "S'okay. But is anyone else gonna do that?" she asked, pointing behind her with her thumb.

Hermione thought for a second. "Not that I know of. You see centaurs are a little...eccentric."

Harry snorted. "A little?"

Everyone laughed a little. It helped to ease the nerves that were being ever so kind as to make their stomachs a bit ill.

 

* * *

After the group had been walking for nearly a half hour Wendy felt the need to break the silence. "This definitely wins first prize for creepiest place I've ever been in."

"Least we haven't seen any giant spiders," Ron said.

Wendy's eyes opened wide. "Giant spiders?" she said in a small voice.

"We almost got killed by giant spiders in here once," Harry explained.

Ron shivered at the memory.

Wendy suddenly stopped mid-step. She was staring straight ahead, looking frightened. Harry stepped up to her. "It's okay. We're nowhere near their nest."

Wendy shook her head, still staring. "Look," she said, her voice shaking.

Harry squinted to try and see through the blackness of the night. A small movement caught his attention. A pair of slanted eyes glowed at them in the dim light of their wands. "Beastmaster," called a low, guttural voice. "Beastmaster come forth. Claim what is yours."

Suddenly the area in front of them got very bright. Everyone raised their hands to shield their eyes. When they focused again they saw a clearing lit by glowing orbs of light. "Bright spots," Hermione said, barely above a whisper.

Harry tore his eyes away from the scene in front of him to look at Hermione. "What?"

Hermione gulped and continued. "Hagrid told me about them. They're...they're what bubble sprites eat."

Harry sucked in a breath. "Then this is why the sprites were out of the forest!" he glanced over at Ron, whose eyes were blazing. He put a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Calm down, Ron."

"BEASTMASTER! Come to me now!" the low voice called again. Everyone froze as the soul beast stepped into the clearing. It seemed even more terrible than Harry's dreams.

Harry stifled an urge to run away screaming. The beast held out golf ball sized object in its clawed hand...The Soul Crystal. "Take this," it said to Wendy. "Take it and become the most powerful witch in the world."

Wendy began to walk forward. She stopped not more than twenty feet away from the beast. She was shaking visibly. "I...I don't want it," she stuttered. The pull on her heart was very strong. It was hard not to rush over to the beast and snatch the crystal from it.

The beast became angry. "Take it! It is impossible for you not to," it said and stomped the ground. A slight rumble went through the earth.

"No," she said with more confidence. "In fact,...you're gonna give it to my brother."

The beast laughed loudly. It was a horrible sound. "Foolish girl! Do you take me for a common Unicorn? I can not be controlled by you." Its eyes narrowed dangerously. "And if you won't take it then I have no use for you." It let out a horrible roar.

"Wendy, get out of there!" Harry yelled.

The beast swung back one of its mighty arms, then threw it forward, hitting Wendy in the chest. Hermione screamed as Wendy went flying backward through the air. Cracking sounds could be heard as branches gave way to the force of her body hitting them. "WENDY!" Harry yelled.

Harry wheeled around on his right foot to face the Soul Beast. "You bastard!"

The beast laughed again. "You will all die!" With that, the beast lunged forward toward Harry and the others.

 


	13. The Third Race

Harry raised his wand. He knew what he had to do. He just hoped he wouldn't get in trouble for it since it wasn't being done to a fellow wizard. "Crucio!" A split second before Harry's spell hit the beast he saw the air around it glow. The spell had hit what looked like some kind of magic barrier and fizzled into nothingness.

Everyone stood aghast at what had just happened. What could they do if even one of the unforgivable curses wouldn't work on it? They didn't have much time to think about it before the Soul Beast lunged at Ron. He dove sideways and hit the ground hard. He winced at the sharp pain in his shoulder. The beast rounded on him again and knocked him hard in the stomach. The impact made him roll like a bowling ball through the underbrush. "RON!" Harry and Hermione yelled in unison.

This was too much. They had to get out of there. "Hermione, run! Find Wendy and Ron. I'll distract it!" Harry yelled in desperation.

"I'm not leaving you alone!" Hermione screamed as she ducked out of the way of the beast's whip-like tail.

"He will not survive," a woman's voice said from behind the trees, unheard by anyone but her companion.

"You know the law. You are forbidden to interfere," a man answered as he looked on, seemingly bored by the scene before him.

"Please my Lord. He is the first of his line to carry the blood!" the woman pleaded. "Should this not allow me to at least bend the rules a little?"

The man sighed, sounding like he had relented, but just barely. "Very well, Selene," he said as he waved a long, graceful hand at Harry. He raised his arms above his head and a glittery cloud began to circle his feet. It rose to cover his entire body and then he disappeared. Only a few stray specks of light falling from the air echoed his existence.

The woman turned back to stare at Harry. "Thank you, Lord Oberon."

"GO!" Harry yelled again. He concentrated his thoughts and created a large ball of flame. He threw it at the beast. Although it didn't manage to touch the creature, it did succeed in destroying the barrier. Its departure was marked by a ripple in the air.

"Now—what to do?" Selene pondered. Her eyes lit up as she looked at Hermione. "Ahhh yes. The girl. He cares for her deeply," she remarked. Her eyes flashed white, so did the eyes of the Soul Beast.

The beast turned its attention to Hermione again. It roared mightily as it picked up a large spear-like rock from the ground and hurled it towards her like a javelin. "HERMIONE!" Harry screamed. He felt like he was running in slow motion as he tried to reach her. The rock plunged itself straight through her chest and emerged on the other side. Blood rained down on the forest floor as it fell from her body. A loud thud sounded as she hit the ground somewhere out of Harry's site. "NO!" Harry screamed. Tears flowed down his face in tiny rivers.  _"No. No, this can't be right,"_ his panicked mind demanded.  _"She's dead. Oh, oh God she's...no..."_

Something inside Harry snapped. His eyes glowed with a fierce white light as he turned to the beast. A strong wind came from nowhere as it whipped around his body, making his hair dance wildly around his face. It lifted him into the air. He looked at the beast with as much raw hated as a human could produce. The Soul Beast sensed something that told it to back away, but it was too late. "NOT HERMIONE! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Harry screamed and the beast was ripped apart from the inside out by an unseen force. The leaves on the ground were bombarded with chunks of dead flesh.

Harry floated above the ground for a moment before the reason for his rage came flooding back to his mind. The light left his eyes and he slowly descended to the ground as though he were being lowered by strings. "Hermione," he sobbed. "Oh please...please. I need you. I need you." He curled up into a shaking ball on the ground. Sobs racked his body. "I can't live without you. Please. Please come back to me." He felt so sick. He wanted to rip his heart from his chest just so it would stop hurting. He began to cry...harder than he ever had in his young life. His cries pierced the silence of the night so loudly that it wasn't long before not a creature in the forest was without the knowledge that Harry Potter was in pain. Finally, after the tears simply refused to come anymore he began to repeat a word—one...lonely...word. "No. No no no no no no no..." and he simply continued like that. Not wanting to ever move again.

(A/N-In the next scene, the song "All You Wanted" by Michelle Branch is playing in the background.)

 

* * *

The sound of hooves pounded the soft earth as the wind moved the branches of the trees standing tall over three unconscious figures. Ardian took in a sharp breath when he saw the Beastmaster sprawled on the ground. He knelt down and gently shook her. "Beastmaster...Beastmaster, wake up. You must wake up."

Wendy moaned and put her hand to her face. "Ooohhh. Man, that hurt."

"Beastmaster. Oh thank the stars," Ardian exclaimed, as he helped Wendy up.

Wendy looked up at the young centaur. "Ardian?" she slowly stood up. "What the heck are you doing here?"

Ardian let go of her hand. "I feared for your safety, Beastmaster."

"I told you to stop calling me that!" Wendy said with irritation.

"I'm sorry Beastm..." he paused and collected himself "...Wendy. Are your companions alright?"

Wendy turned to look where Ardian was staring. Hermione was lying on the ground about twenty feet away. Ron was only half visible under a bush. "Hermione! Ron!" She ran over to Ron and began to shake him.

Ron slapped Wendy's hand away. "Don't do that so bloody hard! I've already got a headache."

"Sorry," Wendy replied.

"Oh my head," Hermione said as she tried to sit up. Wendy offered her arm for balance. She accepted it gladly.

"Hermione are you okay?" Ron asked as he walked over to his friend.

"Yeah. That thing hit me in the chest pretty hard. I think it cracked a couple of ribs," she said as she gingerly rubbed her ribcage. She suddenly sucked in a breath and winced at the sting of pain this brought. Her eyes went wide. "Harry! He's facing that thing by himself!"

The three injured friends made their way back to the clearing as quickly as they could considering their injuries.

 

* * *

Harry laid there—Oblivious to anything except the repeating thoughts of denial that echoed through his grieving mind. Slowly, he became dimly aware of someone calling his name. "Harry!" the voice called again. It sounded like Hermione's voice.  _"No. It's not possible,"_  he thought. "HARRY!" Hermione's voice yelled.

Harry gathered all his remaining willpower and chanced a glance upward. He saw Hermione standing about thirty feet away. She had a mix of relief and concern clouding her features. He felt a sudden surge of emotion and stood up. She was covered in scratches, she was muddy, her clothes were torn and her hair was matted to her head with sweat...He'd never seen her look so beautiful.

She was alive. She was alive and suddenly nothing else in the world mattered except her. He knew exactly what he wanted. "Hermione?...HERMIONE!" he screamed, his voice was filled with immense relief. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him. Hermione didn't protest at all as Harry pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately. The world faded away as she melted into him. "Are you real?" he said as he kept shifting his hands around on her body in an attempt to make sure she was solid. New tears of joy filled his eyes as he laughed lightly in relief. He stared intently at her for a brief moment as he held her face in his hands. "How's this possible? I saw you die."

Hermione's expression turned to shock and confusion. "Die? Harry, what on Earth are you talking about?"

Fresh tears released themselves from his eyes. "It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that you're here," he sobbed. "Hermione...I need to tell you—I...I love you."

Hermione's eyes filled with tears of joy. "Do you mean that?"

"I do." He ran his fingers through her hair. "I love you SO much—more than life itself. When I thought you were dead..." He trailed off.

Hermione put her finger to his lips. "Shhhhh," was all she said before she kissed him with all the love in her heart. "I love you too." Harry smiled, which turned into an impossibly huge grin.

Harry and Hermione heard a loud 'eh hem' from their left. "If you two are finished snogging, I'd like to get back to the school," Ron said. He tapped his foot like he was annoyed, but the smirk on his face spoke volumes about how amusing he actually found the entire scene. "Oh, and by the way Harry...It's about bloody time you got your head on straight."

Harry smiled widely. Hermione did too but her smile suddenly faded. In her happiness at seeing Harry unharmed, she had forgotten about the Soul Beast. "Harry? Where's the beast?"

Harry's grin disappeared. "I...I killed it." His voice sounded unsure and strange.

"How?" Ron asked, stepping toward his friend.

Harry looked down at the leaves twirling in the wind. "I wish I knew. I was so angry. I thought it had killed you, Mione." He choked a bit on the last few words. "I just suddenly felt powerful..." He looked up. "Very powerful. I started floating above the ground. I screamed at it and it...it..." He trailed off again.

"It what?" Hermione asked, urging him to continue.

Harry made a confused grimace. "It exploded."

"Exploded?" Ron said.

Harry pointed a shaking finger at the spot where the beast had been. "Look," he croaked. Everyone looked down and for the first time noticed the bits of Soul Beast littering the forest floor. Ron's eyes went as wide as dinner plates. Wendy took one look at the guts she hadn't previously noticed she had stepped in, turned around and vomited.

Hermione was the only one who found her voice. "My God, Harry," she said, staring at him in disbelief. "Just how powerful are you?" she asked as a small gust of wind rustled their robes.

"I'm proud of you Harry," came an ethereal voice from behind them.

The group turned around to see a woman standing there. She was tall and pale, with raven black hair and blue eyes. She wore a simple pale blue dress that touched the ground. She began to move towards them, making no footsteps as she walked.

"You passed the test," she said with a strange smile.

Harry instantly didn't trust this newcomer. "Who are you? And what test?" he nearly demanded.

"I am Selene—a child of Oberon. And you passed the test of power," she said as she held up her hands. She made her palms face each other and a glow began to form in the space between them. It wasn't long before a familiar scene was being shown in the light. "I wanted you to live." The image in the light showed Harry dodging the Soul Beast. "I knew you contained the blood of the third race," the imaged changed to Harry throwing the ball of flame, "but I needed a way to bring out your power. My Lord Oberon gave me permission to help you along by showing you this illusion." The image of Hermione being impaled was shown.

Wendy tried to sit down on a log, missed, and fell over backward. Hermione let out a loud gasp and her hand went over her mouth. She stared with horrified realization at her beloved. "Oh Harry. My poor, sweet Harry," she said, tears brimming in her eyes. She turned toward Selene. She was furious. "How could you?" she demanded, her fists balled up at her sides, "How could you make him go through that? You...you bitch!"

Harry, surprised, turned and looked at Hermione. This was the second time he'd heard her swear in as many days. Selene laughed lightly. "My my you have quite a spirit for such a little girl."

Now Harry was angry. "Don't you  _dare_  talk to her that way!" He pointed at Selene. "And what gives you the right to do something like this?!"

Selene's amused look left her small features. "You are my blood. That gives me every right, to protect you."

"What are you talking about?" Harry growled.

"You would do well to respect your elders, child," she said as she glared at Harry. "Dumbledore will explain everything to you, I'm sure. I will not go with you. He and I are not on good terms." Without another word, she simply faded out of existence.

No one spoke. They were all confused, and angry. Harry sighed heavily. "Let's go talk to Dumbledore."


	14. Bloodlines

The quartet turned to leave the clearing. "Harry, wait," Wendy said. "You almost forgot the crystal," she said as she bent over to pick it up.

"Wendy, NO!" Ron yelled as he grabbed her arm roughly. "Are you stupid or something?"

"What?" Wendy replied in irritation as she rubbed the spot Ron had grabbed.

"You can't touch that thing remember?" Ron said in disbelief.

Wendy turned red. "Oh yeah...um...thank you, Ron," she said as she made an embarrassed smile.

Ron shook his head and rolled his eyes.

Harry sighed. He picked up the crystal and stared at. It glinted as he held it up in the light from the bright spots.

Hermione walked up to Harry. "So what are you going to do with it?"

Harry looked thoughtful. "It's amazing that this little thing caused so much suffering," he said. He looked around till he found a large rock and began to lift it.

"You're just gonna smash it?" Wendy asked.

Harry shrugged. "Only thing I can think of." He dropped the crystal on the ground, raised the rock over his head and threw it down as hard as he could. No one could have expected the result of this.

The Soul Crystal shattered with a blinding flash of light. After that, nearly a hundred balls of light, like tiny comets, began to float out of it towards the sky. It was the souls of the slain. The four friends just watched in wonder until they noticed that two of the lights were moving towards them instead of following the rest.

"Harry, look," Hermione said quietly.

The two souls, one red, one green, stopped about two feet away. They began to take human form and turned into none other than Lily and James Potter. Lily blinked like she had just woken from sleep. She stared at Harry. "Who are you?" Everyone was too stunned to answer her question. Her eyes fell on Harry's scar and she gasped as tears filled her eyes. She knew what caused that kind of scar and she knew there was only one person who could have it.

James put a hand on Lily's shoulder. "What is it?"

Lily didn't look at James. "Harry?"

Harry, who was awestruck, managed the will-power to nod.

"My God. Oh Son. My little boy," James said through tears that had just begun to form.

Harry reached out and tried to touch his mother. His hand passed right through her. This caused his eyes to mist over. "You're here. You're actually here and I can't even touch you. It's not fair." He dug his nails into the top of his head in frustration. "I've wanted to meet you so much." He cried harder.

Lily moved her hand over her son's forehead. She knew it was futile, but even making the gesture made her feel a little better. "Believe me, honey. I'd love to wrap you up in a great big hug. Look how you've grown. You've gotten so big," she sniffed. "And so handsome. I'm just glad you survived."

James seemed to notice everyone else for the first time. "Who are your friends, Harry?"

Harry straightened and wiped his eyes. "This is Ron. And this is Hermione...my girlfriend," he said with a blush.

"Well well," James said with a lop-sided grin. "I'm very glad to meet you, Hermione. Be careful with this one. If he's anything like me he's going to be a handful."

"Dad!" Harry complained. Hermione giggled. Lily gave James a look. Harry walked over to his sister. "And this is Wendy."

Lily and James froze. "It's not possible," Lily said.

"Harry, is that your sister?" James asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah," Harry replied with a smile.

Wendy shifted uncomfortably. "Hi."

"We thought we'd lost you. How? How are you here?" Lily asked.

"Professor McGonagall found her," Harry said.

James smiled. "That blessed woman."

"We love you both so much," Lily said. She bit her lower lip. "It's going to be so hard leaving you again."

"What!?" Harry shouted. His eyes were wide with panic. "But why!? You...you could stay at the castle. Please," he pleaded, the tears starting to flow again.

"Oh, Harry. We don't have a choice," Lily said. Her face was full of sorrow and regret.

"Why?" Wendy asked.

"Because we don't have enough magic left to stay," James said. He knelt down in front of his son. "A human spirit can only stay on Earth for more than a few moments if they have magic in them. That's why muggles don't become ghosts. Voldemort stole our magic when we were put into the crystal."

Harry sighed heavily through his sobs. "I love you."

"We know honey," Lily said as she placed ghostly kisses on her children's heads. She looked at her hand. It was becoming more transparent. "It's starting. Oh, my babies. I want to hold you so much," she said as she broke down into tears.

James hugged his wife. "Oh, Lily." He sighed. "At least we know they're all right."

Lily nodded, sniffed and wiped her eyes. "You be good."

"We will," Harry replied. "Dad?" he said suddenly.

"Yes, Harry?"

"There's something you have to know. Sirius didn't betray you. It was Peter," Harry said with a bit of venom in his voice.

"We know. I never believed it was Sirius. Peter is more the type. I should've known that when I made him our secret keeper." James' brow knitted together in anger.

"Dad? What am I?" Harry asked.

James was surprised by this. "What do you mean?"

Harry scowled. "This is what I mean." He made a large fireball and hurled it at a nearby tree. The tree cracked in half and erupted in flame.

James and Lily looked at each other, wide-eyed. "Well, I'll be damned. I thought the blood was dead," James said. Just then the couple flickered.

"Mum? Dad?"

"I'm sorry Harry. It looks like our time is up," Lily said.

"No," Harry protested.

"Goodbye. We'll miss you," James said. Their bodies began to reform into the lights they had been earlier.

"Wait!" Harry cried with his hand outstretched. "WAIT!" Lily and James' lights floated up and out of sight. "NO! You can't! Don't leave me again!" Harry sank to the ground crying. Hermione knelt down and held him close.

"Shhhhh," Hermione said as she rocked Harry back and forth.

Ron looked at Wendy. "You okay?"

"Oddly enough...yes. For some reason, I just don't feel sad," Wendy said. She looked grim. "I'm more worried about Harry."

Ron looked down at Harry and Hermione. "Let's give them a few minutes."

Wendy nodded and sat down on a tree root and Ron sat next to her. His heart felt heavy as he watched his best friend. He knew how much his parents meant to him. "I wish I knew what to say."

"So do I. This has got to be just one huge kick in the teeth," Wendy said. Ron nodded. "I'll probably cry later. I usually tend to go into shock over things like this," she added. She looked at her watch. "We should go. It'll be sunrise soon."

 

* * *

Everyone was in pain of some sort. Hermione leaned on Harry for support. Her ribs were hurting even more now and this had caused Harry to insist that she take it easy. Wendy was annoying everyone by saying 'ow' every other step. Not only did she have a sore head but her hip hurt from falling off the log. Ron's wrist was twice the size it should have been. Harry was the only one who seemed to be undamaged, save for a few nasty scratches.

They reached the trapdoor for the secret passage and carefully lowered themselves in. As they walked the passage Harry's stomach was turning at the thought of what would happen when they got back. Snape's office was no problem. He wouldn't be up yet and Hermione had assured everyone that the magic lock only worked from the outside. So they wouldn't be trapped, but explaining their wounds would be next to impossible.

They opened the wall and limped out into Snape's office. As soon as it clicked into place behind them they saw Snape and Dumbledore standing next to Snape's desk. The potions professor had a smirk on his face and Dumbledore looked absolutely furious.

"After all my warnings. I can't believe you didn't listen to me. I am  _very_  disappointed in you Hermione," he said. Hermione shrank against Harry. "All of you will report to the infirmary at once. I will deal with you later."

Harry lay on his back in the bed Madam Pomfrey had designated as his while she examined him. He felt sick. All the times he'd done dangerous things he had never managed to make Dumbledore angry before. "You're free to go Harry. Everyone else must stay a bit longer, however," Madam Pomfrey said.

The infirmary door opened and Dumbledore stepped through. He cleared his throat. "All of you have detention for the remainder of the school year. Harry," he made a 'come here' motion with his index finger, "come with me please." Harry gulped and followed Dumbledore out into the hallway. "Where do I start?" Dumbledore mused.

"I had to do it," Harry said suddenly.

Dumbledore sighed. "No Harry, you didn't. I was planning on doing it myself."

Harry stopped walking. "You were?"

"Yes. I had hoped the aurors would have been enough." Dumbledore began to walk again. "When Professor McGonagall told me you were gone from your beds I went to Professor Snape's office to enlist his aid in your rescue. That's when the four of you came out from the wall."

"I'm sorry," Harry said softly as he turned his gaze to the floor.

"You could have been killed. Not only that, but you put everyone else's lives in danger as well," Dumbledore scolded. Harry looked down. "I just thank Merlin you're safe." He began to walk down a flight of stairs. "I assume the crystal has been destroyed."

"Yes."

"And your parents?"

Harry flinched and the sick feeling of sadness returned to his stomach. "Free."

"It must have been difficult—Speaking to them for so brief a time."

"Yeah, it was," Harry said. He paused. "Professor, I...killed the Soul Beast."

Dumbledore looked at Harry in surprise then went back to looking straight ahead. "I see."

"That's it? I tell you I killed it and you say 'I see'?" Harry said with minor annoyance.

"I am surprised Harry—Just not overly so. You see, I knew you had that kind of power."

"A woman in the forest told me to ask you about it," Harry said as he picked a piece of lint off of his robe.

"Selene," Dumbledore replied with mild distaste.

"She said you weren't on good terms."

"To put it mildly. What did she tell you?"

"That I was her blood. What did she mean by that?"

Dumbledore opened the door to the teachers' lounge and stepped inside. "Harry, sit down."

Harry did as he was told. "Ow!" He jumped up and looked down at the seat. There was a paper clip sticking out from the couch cushion, shining in the sunlight from the window. He removed the clip and sat down again.

Dumbledore smiled and pushed his glasses up a bit. "I didn't think I would be telling you about your father's family so soon." He paused. "Selene is your great Grandmother."

"What?!" Harry nearly yelled.  _"Just how many people are related to me?"_ he thought.

"Yes. And she is a child of Oberon. Which actually makes you only three-quarters human," Dumbledore said carefully.

Harry's eyes widened at this news. "I'm not...completely human?" he said with a bit of worry in his voice.

Dumbledore chuckled lightly. "It's not a bad thing Harry. Oberon's children have great power. It will be interesting to see how you continue to develop. For some reason, Oberon's blood has passed over everyone in your family...until now."

"So that's why I have these powers showing up?" Harry said, taking off his glasses. He set them down on the arm of the couch and rubbed his weary eyes.

"Yes. And we have no idea how powerful you will become. Moreover, you may wind up having a longer lifespan than even the average wizard. You see, children of Oberon are immortal. They never die unless they are killed. This may pass down to you as long life."

"This is a lot to take in," Harry said. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked down. "What if I wind up losing control of my powers and hurt somebody?" he said quietly.

Dumbledore put a hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry was relieved to see the usual kind twinkle was back in his mentor's eyes. "I have the strictest confidence that you will control these powers well. I have already seen your ability to do so." Harry looked up, confused. "Miss Granger was not the only one who saw you that day by the lake," Dumbledore explained.

"Oh," Harry said as he yawned through his expression of surprise.

Dumbledore smiled. "Go to bed. You will need your rest for the dance tonight."

"I can still go?" Harry said, surprised.

"Yes. I think you have been through enough," Dumbledore answered, smiling warmly.

Harry grinned. "Thank you, Professor. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Harry."

 

* * *

Harry went to the boys' dorm in Gryffindor tower. As he headed toward his bed he noticed Ron had already returned from the infirmary and was sound asleep.

Harry shuffled across the floor to his trunk, pulled his pajamas out, put them on and crawled into his bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow...


	15. Epilogue

Harry woke up around three in the afternoon. He shook his head, annoyed that he had slept in so late. "Bloody Hell, I haven't even bought my dress robes yet," He grumbled. He jumped out of bed, got dressed, and headed down to the common room. He smiled as he saw Hermione sitting in the windowsill. "Hi, Mione," he said cheerfully as he kissed her.

Hermione smiled. "You're in a good mood."

Harry sat down in front of Hermione. "So much happened last night—knowing my parents are okay, knowing what I really am and...realizing I love you." He grinned when Hermione smiled at hearing those words. "I feel...I don't know...free," he said as he turned to stare at the bright blue sky.

Hermione stood up. "I have to buy my dress robes for the dance. Do you want to come?"

Harry laughed. "I was just about to head to Hogsmeade myself."

"Great! Let me get my coat," Hermione said as she headed off to the girls' dorm.

 

* * *

Harry had his arm around Hermione as they walked the cool autumn streets of Hogsmeade. She leaned into him happily. On the way, they passed the Twins, Lee and Wendy. They were sitting at a table outside the ice cream shop. Lee looked up and waved the couple over. "What are you up to now?" Harry said, laughing.

"Not telling," Wendy replied, handing Fred an eye dropper

"It's a secret," Fred said as he used the eyedropper to add a purple liquid to the tiny cauldron in front of him

"You better not be planning to sabotage the dance," Hermione said warningly.

"Don't get your robes in a bunch. It's a happy surprise," George replied, slightly annoyed.

Wendy snickered.

"We have to go. We're getting our dress robes," Harry said.

Wendy wiggled her eyebrows. "Have fun."

Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head. "We'll see you later."

 

* * *

"How about this one, Harry?" Hermione said as she held up a pretty yellow robe. Harry just continued to look through the rack he was in front of. "Harry?" she repeated, slightly annoyed.

Harry turned around. "Sorry. What?"

Hermione sighed. "What do you think of this robe?"

Harry frowned. "I don't think yellow is your color. How bout a purple one?"

Hermione turned back to the rack next to her. After a moment she turned around with a dark purple robe. She held it up to her face. "What do you think?"

Harry smiled. "Perfect."

 

* * *

Harry sighed and looked at the clock for what seemed like the thousandth time. "Mione! What's taking so long?" he yelled up the stairs.

"I'm coming down now," Hermione's voice yelled back.

Harry heard footsteps and turned around. That was when his breathing stopped. She was just...gorgeous. She had the sides of her shoulder-length hair braided intricately around her head like a crown. Small crystals hung from the three braided loops in the front. The back of her hair was down. Her purple robe was ankle length with long bell sleeves. The v-shaped neckline showed just enough to make Harry's heart race. She wore lovely blue butterfly earrings and a matching necklace.

Hermione smiled when she saw Harry's wonderful impression of a codfish. "Well, it appears you like it." She giggled lightly.

Harry's expression barely changed as he managed to choke out a stunned, "Wow."

"Harry? You can close your mouth now," Hermione said in amusement.

"Wow," Harry repeated.

Hermione reached the last step and walked over to Harry. With a look that showed she was holding back a giggle she put her hand under Harry's chin and pushed his mouth shut. "That's better. Shall we go?"

Harry blinked rapidly and shook his head. "Um, yeah. Did...did I say you look stunning?" he said weakly.

Hermione smiled and cocked an eyebrow. "In a manner of speaking," she said as she let the giggle free.

Harry sighed looking slightly indignant. He held out his arm. "Let's go."

 

* * *

Hermione and Harry walked down the halls to the dance. In all the fun of seeing Harry lose his ability to speak, she hadn't noticed how he looked. He wore a very nice navy blue robe. Unfortunately, his hair still remained untamable. She didn't mind. She loved his hair. "You look very handsome Harry," she swooned.

Harry smiled. "Thanks, Mione." As the couple entered the dance The Weird Sisters were playing a love song. Harry bowed to his date. "May I have this dance fair lady?" he said with a grin.

Hermione laughed. "Of course."

Harry and Hermione danced as though they were the only ones in the room. Suddenly violet sparkles of light began to swirl around them. "It's beautiful!" Hermione exclaimed in awe.

Harry looked over Hermione's shoulder and saw the twins, Lee, and Wendy leaning against the wall. An empty bag was in George's hand and Harry instantly knew where the lights had come from. They waved and he waved back before laying his head back on his girlfriend's shoulder.

He sighed blissfully. Everything was finally starting to fall into place. Voldemort destroyed last year, Hermione at his side, talking to his parents and knowing what he was. It all gave him a kind of peace he hadn't previously known existed. Hermione snuggled in closer to him and he sighed. He finally felt...content.

 

* * *

High above the dance, another couple glided across a floor of clouds. The moon showed behind them, casting them as ghostly silhouettes. They simply danced on and on. They were celebrating. They were free. More than that, their son was happy—finally, truly...happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it. :) This is a reposting of this story, actually—which is why it got done so quickly. While it's certainly better than it was, it's not nearly as in-depth as it would have been had I written it more recently.
> 
> There was going to be a sequel to this story but I abandoned it a long time ago. The last few HP books kinda killed my desire to write fic for the series.
> 
> Thanks for reading,  
>  Wendy


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